CHADRON, Neb. – With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Chadron State women's basketball has its second-to-last week of home games coming in the Chicoine Center this Thursday and Saturday. 
 
Chadron State (1-18, 1-13 RMAC) will battle MSU Denver (10-12, 8-6 RMAC) on Thursday evening at 5 p.m. before the Eagles face Colorado School of Mines (12-13, 7-7 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Both games will be streamed live on the RMAC Network, accessible through daily, monthly or annual subscription options, or follow along for free via live stats. Fans can also listen to a live radio broadcast on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 FM and doubleqcountry.com with Dave Collins on the call.
 
Promo Notes
Thursday will be a busy day in the Chicoine Center. 
 
For starters, the Eagles will be promoting cancer awareness as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association "Suits and Sneakers Week." Chadron State players and coaches will share who they are "suiting up for" and fans are encouraged to wear sneakers to participate.
 
Chadron State's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) chapter will also be raising money, with 50 percent of donations going to the Make-a-Wish foundation and 50 percent going to CSC's SAAC chapter. SAAC will be accepting cash donations in four buckets designated for Chadron State administrators and coaches – athletic director Mannie Reinsch, head football coach Jay Long, head volleyball coach Jennifer Stadler and head women's wrestling coach Sammy de Seriere. 
Towards the end of the game, the staff member with the bucket that has the most donation money inside it will receive a pie in the face.
 
Finally, Thursday night will feature a halftime basketball showdown between the Chadron State Fire Department and Chadron State Police. 
 
The Saturday game against Colorado School of Mines two days later will be a white-out, with fans encouraged to wear all-white as the Eagles take on the Orediggers.
 
Looking Back
Chadron State failed to get a win in two road games, falling to Colorado Christian 84-43 and CSU Pueblo 76-56 last week.
 
RECAPS: Colorado Christian | CSU Pueblo
 
Among the standout highlights were Kenna Wagner setting a new CSC season high and career high with six steals against CCU, tied for the third-most in a game by an RMAC player this year, while Audrey Quintana made five threes against CSU Pueblo on her way to her second 20-point game of the season with 21.
 
After last week's results, Chadron State needs a win during this week's games to avoid matching its longest losing streak of the season.
 
Fountain of Youth
Chadron State continues to operate this season with a focus on younger players. The Eagles have just three seniors on the roster (and only two rank top 10 on the team in minutes per game). By contrast, three of CSC's top six players in minutes per game are true freshmen. 
 
Fort Collins guard Kenna Wagner (second on team at 24.7 mpg, team-high 81 steals, team-high 55 assists), Cedar Rapids, Iowa guard Ella Moser (third on team at 23.1 mpg, third in scoring at 8.7 ppg, team-high 41 made threes) and Springfield, Illinois's Keziah Toran (sixth on team at 17.9 mpg, second with six blocks, third with 14 steals) have all played massive roles for the Eagles in the first seasons of their collegiate careers.
 
All four true freshmen on the Eagles roster – Wagner, Moser, Toran and Teryn Stokes – have played in at least 10 games, while a fifth player (redshirt freshman Alex Ridenour) has also made 15 appearances while logging 13.9 minutes per game in her first collegiate season after missing her true freshman campaign with injury.
 
20-Pieces
Audrey Quintana became the first Chadron State player this season with multiple 20-point games after tallying 21 points against CSU Pueblo. 
 
The Eagles have now had a 20-point scorer in four consecutive weeks – McKenzi Petersen (20 pts vs. Adams State, January 15), Quintana (22 pts vs. Westminster, January 22), Ella Moser (20 pts vs. South Dakota Mines, January 29) and Quintana again (21 pts vs. CSU Pueblo, February 7).
 
Quintana has now scored in double figures eight times, tied for the highest number on the team with Petersen and ahead of Wagner and Moser (five each).
 
Stat Standouts
·      Chadron State is scoring 52.2 points per game (15^th in RMAC) and allowing 76.4 points per game (15^th in RMAC). 
·      CSC is shooting 35.4 percent from the field (15^th in RMAC), 27.9 percent from three (11^th) and 67.9 percent from the line (11^th). 
·      Eagle opponents are averaging 46.1 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from deep and 72.5 percent from the line.
·      The Eagles rank fifth in the RMAC in bench points, receiving 21.1 points per game from non-starters.
·      Among qualified shooters, Ella Moser ranks tied for fifth in the RMAC in three-point field goal percentage (.350) and fifth in made three-pointers per game (2.2).
·      Amya Winfrey ranks sixth in the RMAC in blocks per game (0.9) and fourth in total blocks (18). Winfrey leads the team in blocks and is second in rebounding (4.5 per game) despite ranking ninth in minutes played per game (14.9).
·      The Eagles do not have a double-figure scorer, but have four players averaging between 7-10 points per game – Audrey Quintana (9.9), McKenzi Petersen (9.2), Ella Moser (8.7) and Kenna Wagner (7.2)
·      McKenzi Petersen and Audrey Quintana are the only Chadron State players to start every game so far this season.
·      Six players have appeared in every game – Quintana, Petersen, Ella Moser, Kenna Wagner, Amya Winfrey and Evelyn Old Coyote.
·      The Eagles attempt 22.3 three-pointers per game (4^th in the RMAC) and make 6.2 per game (7^th).
 
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 in the WBCA Coaches Poll – Colorado Mesa at No. 4. Adams State is receiving votes.
 
Scouting the Opponents
MSU Denver
The Roadrunners are just under .500 at 10-12 overall, but just over .500 in conference play at 8-6. They went 1-1 last week, falling by 30 points to No. 4-ranked Colorado Mesa but rebounding to beat Western Colorado 62-55. MSU Denver has been playing much better of late, as the loss to Mesa snapped a four-game winning streak.
 
Shots tend to fall in Roadrunner games. MSU Denver ranks second in the RMAC in total offense, averaging 71.6 points per game, but are only 13^th in scoring defense, allowing 72.1 points per contest. The Roadrunners rank fourth in the league with a 41.9 percent team field goal percentage.
 
MSU Denver has three double-figure scorers in Mikylah Espinosa (17.2 ppg, 5^th in RMAC), Nevaeh Millard (13.1 ppg, 14^th in RMAC) and Jadyn Watts (10.3 ppg). Watts ranks 11^th in the RMAC at 6.3 rebounds per game, while Brianna Sealy grabs 6.1 boards per game.
 
MSU Denver has a first-year head coach in Lynn Kennedy after the retirement of Tanya Haave, who led the Roadrunners for 15 seasons, but Kennedy is no stranger to the profession. Kennedy has been a Division I head coach at McNeese State (41-80) and Portland State (92-93) and at the NAIA level with Southern Oregon (208-105). His first head job was in the RMAC at New Mexico Highlands, going 30-52 in three seasons with the Cowboys.
 
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado School of Mines is 12-13 overall and 7-7 in the RMAC. The Orediggers will enter this week's competition on a five-game losing streak, but won eight in a row prior to that. Last week, Mines lost at home to Western Colorado (73-64) and Westminster (73-69).
 
The Orediggers are receiving a breakout season from Sofia Baldessari, who ranks second in the RMAC in scoring at 20.1 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 7.9 boards per game. Baldessari has topped 20 points 13 times, including an even 20 in the first meeting against Chadron State, with 45-point and 36-point outings.
 
Mines ranks seventh in scoring offense (69.5 ppg) and ninth in scoring defense (68.4 ppg allowed). Jenna Shandy (12.1 ppg) and Emma Sixta (11.8 ppg, 22 vs. CSC) also contribute while Jade Leon (5.7 rpg) is a top-20 rebounder. Shandy, Sixta and Leon all have more than 60 assists.
 
Brittany Simpson is in her 14^th season at Colorado School of Mines. She has won three RMAC titles, five NCAA Tournament selections and three RMAC Coach of the Year awards.
 
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 at Otero Junior College. 
 
As a student-athlete, Little played one season at Alaska Anchorage (Division II, GNAC) before transferring to Otero. He closed his playing career at the Division I level for Abiliene Christian University (Texas).