Friday, March 6, 2026
The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Basketball

Mountaineers trip-up women’s basketball

Kristina Harter
Sadie Waugh, (34), freshman forward of Paxton, blocks Mountaineer Katie Hall, (15), sophomore guard of Hazelton, Idaho, as she takes a shot during Saturday’s game in Armstrong Gym. The Eagle women’s basketball team lost to Western State College of Colorado 72-58. — Photo by Kinley Q. Nichols
Sadie Waugh, (34), freshman forward of Paxton, blocks Mountaineer Katie Hall, (15), sophomore guard of Hazelton, Idaho, as she takes a shot during Saturday’s game in Armstrong Gym. The Eagle women’s basketball team lost to Western State College of Colorado 72-58. — Photo by Kinley Q. Nichols

The Chadron State women’s basketball team faced the Western State Mountaineers, but could not pull through without two starting players, Kaitlin Petri, senior guard of Kearney, and Marla Munsen, sophomore guard of Hershey.

Both of these star players are still on the injury list and did not play against the Mountaineers.

Despite a seemingly-even contest between the two teams, the Mountaineers responded with a victory after a cold offensive night for the Eagles and a game-high, 18-point performance from Mountaineer Nikki Trujillo, junior guard of Thornton, Colo., edged out the Eagles by a final score of 72-58.

Two other Western players also scored in double figures.

Michelle Dobbs, junior guard of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with 16 points, and Katie Hall, sophomore guard of Hazelton, Idaho, with 14 points, elevated the Mountaineers to their victory over Chadron State.

The Eagles could not catch a rhythym for the entire game, but still managed to stay within a 15-point gap throughout the first half.

The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 4-11 advantage after Trujillo sank a 3-pointer, and Hall added two more good shots at the 13:16 mark.

The Eagles trailed the whole first half and struggled with a cold-shooting game throughout the second half.

Chadron State had the last word with 5 seconds left when Jasmine Clark, sophomore guard of Alliance, shot a 3-pointer that tightened the gap for the Mountaineers, but Western State still won by 14 points, 72-58.

Lexi Smidt, sophomore of North Platte, Neb., led Chadron with 10 points for the game, while Kattie Ranta, redshirt freshman guard of Rapid City, S.D., and Betsy Moler, sophomore guard of Rapid City, S.D., contributed 9 off the bench.

Outshooting the Eagles (9-25, 36.0 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, the Mountaineers posted a 44.4 percent from the 3-point line off of 16-36 shooting.

The Eagles (1-4) will be traveling to Colorado for their next four games starting with the Regis University Rangers in Denver Friday. The tip-off is slated to take place at 5 pm.

The team will also play Metro State College Roadrunners in Denver Saturday and travel just north to Colorado Christian College in Lakewood, Colo., Dec. 17 followed by a short trip to Golden, Colo., to the Colorado School of Mines Dec. 18.