CHADRON, Neb. – After playing its two most competitive games of the season at home last week, Chadron State women's basketball will wrap up its nonconference schedule with a pair of road games against Nebraska-Kearney and No. 8-ranked Fort Hays State. 
 
The Eagles (0-7, 0-4 RMAC) battle Nebraska-Kearney (5-6, 0-2 MIAA) in a Tuesday afternoon matchup before visiting Fort Hays State (8-1, 1-1 MIAA) on Friday. Both games are set to tip off at 4:30 p.m. MT (5:30 p.m. CT/local). 
 
The Eagles will have to reckon with Division II's leading scorer, Fort Hays's Talexa Weeter, who already has four 30-point games to her credit this season.
 
Both games will be live-streamed on the MIAA Network (pay-per-view) while the Tuesday game against Kearney will air on News Channel Nebraska Television. Tuesday's game will also be broadcast live on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 FM and doubleqcountry.com with Dave Collins on the call. There will be no radio stream for Friday's game against Fort Hays.
 
Looking Back
Chadron State lost its two games last weekend by identical final scores of 66-54, against CSU Pueblo on Thursday and UCCS on Saturday. 
 
RECAPS: CSU Pueblo | UCCS
 
The two losses are tied for the smallest margin of defeat in CSC's seven games this season. Chadron State did outscore UCCS 31-27 in the second half of Saturday's contest. 
 
Ella Moser averaged 13 points per game across the two contests, hitting seven three-pointers overall, including four in a 17-point effort against CSU Pueblo that was a career-high for the Cedar Rapids, Iowa freshman. 
 
Trending Upwards
While Chadron State and first-year head coach Jalen Little are still searching for their first win, the Eagles are heading in the right direction with their play. 
 
Against CSU Pueblo and UCCS, the Eagles had their two best shooting nights of the season so far, both in field goal percentage (.449 vs. CSUP, .385 vs. UCCS) and three-point percentage (.444 vs. CSUP, .375 vs. UCCS).
 
The Eagles recorded double-digit assists in both games, two of the three times they have done that in 2025-26, and tied a season-high in both games with eight steals apiece (four times – vs. Oklahoma Christian, Black Hills State, CSUP and UCCS). 
After losing the rebounding battle in the season's first four games, the Eagles have been even or on top in their last three contests. The Eagles outrebounded South Dakota Mines 43-24 in a December 6 loss, then combined to outrebound last week's two opponents 77-75.
 
Youth is Served
True freshmen are playing a big role on this year's team. A pair of first-year players rank first and second on the team in minutes per game – Fort Collins, Colorado's Kenna Wagner (24.0 mpg) and Cedar Rapids, Iowa's Ella Moser (22.0 mpg). 
 
Wagner has been the team's primary point guard, leading the team in assists (2.7 per game) and steals (1.4 per game) and averaging 6.3 points per game on .291 shooting to rank fourth on the squad in scoring. 
 
Moser has been the team's top shooter, leading in three-point makes (17) and attempts (46) to shoot .370 from deep. Moser's 8.4 points per game ranks second on the team, and the freshman has risen to playing the second-most minutes per game on the roster despite coming off the bench in all seven contests. 
 
A third true freshman has joined the party by stringing together several productive games. Keziah Toran, who hails from Springfield, Illinois, played just four minutes across CSC's first three games but has averaged 17.3 minutes per game over four games in the past two weeks. 
 
Toran set and then re-set new career-highs inminutes, points and rebounds in each of CSC's games against Black Hills State (12/4), South Dakota Mines (12/6) and UCCS (12/13). Against the Mountain Lions last time out, Toran played 30 minutes and cleared double-digit rebounds for the first time with 11 rebounds. 
 
Altogether, Toran had a well-rounded stat line of seven points, 11 rebounds, two assists, a block and two steals. Toran is up to second on the team in rebounds per game, averaging 4.4 per contest.
 
In the Polls
With new program leadership and a primarily new team, the Chadron State women's basketball program was picked 14^th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. 
 
Defending regular season champions Colorado Mesa were the preseason pick to win the league, receiving nine first-place votes plus five second-place votes for 191 total points. The other six first-place votes went to defending tournament champions UCCS, who also had four second-place votes and three third-place votes for 181 total points. 
 
Behind the top two, Adams State, Western Colorado and Colorado School of Mines rounded out the top five. The remainder of the RMAC Tournament places are occupied by Black Hills State, CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. MSU Denver is picked ninth, followed by Colorado Christian, South Dakota Mines, and Fort Lewis in the top 12. 
 
Westminster placed 13^th with 47 points in the poll, just one point ahead of the Eagles, who had 46. Regis rounded out the poll and was picked 15^th, receiving 21 points. 
 
The RMAC has one nationally ranked team – Colorado Mesa at No. 13.
 
Stat Standouts
·      Chadron State is scoring 50.1 points per game and allowing 76.0 points per game. 
·      McKenzi Petersen is the Eagles' only player averaging over 10 points per game (10.7) and over five rebounds per game (5.7).
·      Ella Moser ranks fourth in the RMAC in three-point field goal percentage (.370) and three-pointers per game (2.4).
·      The Eagles average 33.3 rebounds (13^th in RMAC), 10.14 assists (13^th), 1.3 blocks (13^th) and 7.14 steals (13^th) per contest. 
·      Amya Winfrey is tied for ninth in the RMAC with 0.7 blocks per game.
·      Kenna Wagner ranks tied for 15^th in the RMAC with 2.7 assists per game.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Nebraska Kearney
At 5-6 overall, Nebraska Kearney got off to an 0-2 start in MIAA play with losses to Washburn and Central Missouri before rebounding with a 111-43 win over Southwestern College (NAIA) on Monday. The Lopers are 1-1 against RMAC teams, losing to CSU Pueblo 84-80 but beating Colorado School of Mines 72-70.
 
Three players average in double figures, led by freshman guard Myleigh Weers (16.1 ppg). Junior Jordan Sears (10.9 ppg) leads the team with a .382 three-point percentage while redshirt senior Jillian Aschoff averages 10.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per contest.
 
Head coach Drew Johnson is in his third season at UNK but was previously a head coach at Newman (DII) and Bethel (Kan.) (NAIA). At Newman, Johnson lead the Jets to their first MIAA Tournament appearance in program history prior to leaving for the Lopers. He went 39-20 across his first two seasons at UNK.
 
Fort Hays State
The nation's No. 8-ranked program, Fort Hays State is 8-1 with its lone blemish coming in MIAA play to Washburn. The Tigers are coming off a statement 88-70 win over No. 6 Pittsburg State in a nonconference game and host Tabor (NAIA) on Tuesday before facing the Eagles Friday. 
 
Junior guard Talexa Weeter averages 28.6 points per game, nearly five points per game more than anybody else in Division II. Weeter scored 36 points in the season-opener against Concordia St. Paul and has not looked back, scoring 30 or more four times and 25 or more seven time out of FHSU's nine games. 
 
The Goodland, Kansas native is shooting 48.7 percent from the field and fills the stat sheet in other areas as well, averaging 9.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. Freshman Olivia Mortensen also chips in 12.4 points per contest. 
 
Head coach Talia Kahrs is in her third season as head coach at FHSU, but was on staff as an assistant for 11 years prior to that. She is 53-13 as a head coach.
 
Coach's Corner
Jalen Little is in his first season leading the Chadron State women's basketball program. 
 
For the past five seasons, Little has served as the lead assistant women's basketball coach at RMAC foe CSU Pueblo. During Little's time on staff, the ThunderWolves qualified for four consecutive RMAC tournaments from 2022-25, including a fifth-place finish (18-11, 13-7 RMAC) in the league standings last year. 
 
Little began his coaching career by spending four seasons as an assistant coach with the Chadron State men's basketball program under Houston Reed, who coached Little as a player. 
 
As a student-athlete, Little played one season at Alaska Anchorage (Division II, GNAC) before transferring to Otero Junior College. He closed his playing career at the Division I level for Abiliene Christian University (Texas).