Men’s and women’s basketball teams piling up wins

As winter break rolled through for many students, the men's and women's basketball teams found themselves working hard.

The Lady Mountain Lions' season began with a rigorous series of road games. Forced to play on the road for 12 out of their first 17, the team pushed through, compiling a 10-7 record along the way.

"We had a big win over Western State plus a key win over Regis," said women's basketball coach Corey Laster. "It is nice to be home. We haven't played our best ball but we have been super competitive in all of our games."

This season, the team has been balanced, with many players contributing to the mid-season success. "Jeri Pikul has given us great minutes and Abby Kirkoff remains a highlight for us," Coach Laster said. "We dealt with some injuries and sickness over break with some key people and are hoping to hit our stride soon."

Mountain Lion fans can look forward to the rest of the season as the girls look to continue improving and finish the season strong.

"Over all I have seen good improvement from last season. We still have room to improve as a team so hopefully people can see that come to fruition," said Coach Laster. "We have are hoping to take advantage of playing at home. We finished with a big home stand and are goal is to make the RMAC playoffs. We still have lots of work to do but we are motivated to get it done."

The men's team has been piling up wins as well. With a current winning record, the Mountain Lions have been making a name for themselves within their division.

"These past few weeks I feel that we have done very well," said forward Jordan Carter. "We have won six of our last eight games, including five wins in a row at one point. We've found a combination of guys and a play style that has been working very well, and have come together as a team."

One of the most recent games against Metro State proved to be a challenge too tough to overcome, as Metro State came out on top 89-78.  Despite the loss, it was a learning experience for both the coaches and the players.

"We played hard start to finish, and gave ourselves chances to win at the end, despite a good game by Metro," remarked Carter. "Metro was ranked number one in the country until recently, and despite the loss, I feel our performance in the game gives our team great confidence and motivation moving forward, as we feel we can compete and win against anyone."

In the upcoming weeks, UCCS will play seven of its next 11 games at the Gallogly Event Center.

"We're looking forward to blackout night against CSU Pueblo, so we hope to get a great crowd and fan atmosphere and come out with a win," said Carter.