SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University basketball teams return home this weekend when they will face in-state rival New Mexico Highlands University Saturday inside Drag's Court.


On the women's side, the Lady Mustangs (7-10, 4-8 RMAC) will tip off against the Cowgirls (8-8, 4-8 RMAC) at 2 p.m. NMHU is coming off of a 86-62 win over Northern New Mexico on Tuesday and prior to that lost on the road at Chadron State in double-overtime (102-99) and against Black Hills State (84-76).


Jenny Johnson, China Smith and Alyssa Lopez power the offense for the Cowgirls with Johnson and Smith averaging 12 a game, along with 10.9 from Lopez. Smith is averaging a double-double with 10.5 rebounds as well.


The Lady Mustangs lost on the same road trip against Black Hills State (80-63) and Chadron State (74-68) this past weekend. Prior to that trip, WNMU came back to defeat Fort Lewis, 71-68.


Junior point guard RaTanya Newsome (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) leads the team averaging 13.6 points per game, in assists with 73 and steals with 40. She ranks fifth in the RMAC in assists per game (4.3). Junior guard Ashley Mitchell (Fort Defiance, AZ/Window Rock High School) is second at 12.1 points per game, averages 4.1 rebounds and is tied for the team lead in three-pointers made at 30 with senior guard Kim Clark (Santee, CA/West Hills High School). Mitchell's 48 assists to 35 turnovers this season ranks her sixth in the RMAC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.4 per game. Mitchell is sixth in the RMAC in three-pointers per game (2.1), while Clark ranks 10^th (1.8). Junior center Stephanie Moore (Anton, TX/Anton High School) is third on the team in scoring at 10.5 per game and also averages 4.1 rebounds. Junior forward Nalani Hernandez (Tucson, AZ/Tucson High School) is fifth in the RMAC in rebounds per game at 8.0, while also averaging 7.9 points. Newsome and Mitchell are in the top-five in the conference in terms of steals per game with Newsome third at 2.4 and Mitchell fifth at 1.9.


WNMU as a team is still the top in the RMAC in terms of turnover margin at 5.65, with the next closest team in Colorado Christian at 2.20. The Lady Mustangs are fourth in assist/turnover ratio (0.92) and second in offensive rebounding (14.9).


The Lady Mustangs are tied with the Cowgirls for 11^th in the RMAC, a half-game behind both Colorado Mines and UC-Colorado Springs who are tied for ninth at 4-7. Colorado Christian, Metro State and Western State are all tied for sixth at 5-6.


Last season the teams split the matchups with each winning at home. NMHU won the earlier meeting in Las Vegas, 72-56, and then WNMU won the last game of the season in Silver City, 70-67.


On the men's side, the Mustangs (1-14, 1-11 RMAC) and the Cowboys (9-7, 6-6 RMAC) will tip at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. NMHU split their road trip last weekend defeating Chadron State (85-82), but fell to Black Hills State (98-89). The Mustangs came close in both games over the weekend before falling to Black Hills State (75-60) and Chadron State (88-82).


The Cowboys are led by Mannie Cass, as he averages 18.9 points per game and also leads the team in blocks (23) and rebounds per game (4.8). Lavell Mcdade is second in scoring at 13.8 per contest, followed by 12.9 from Stuart Sullivan.


WNMU is led by junior forward Marcos Castrillo (San Francisco, CA/Pinole Valley) who scored a season-high 23 against Black Hills State and leads the Mustangs at 12.7 per game and also leads in rebounds per game (5.8). Senior center Brelan Berry (Chandler, AZ/Basha High School) is right behind at 12.1 per game and junior point guard Terrez Scott (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia) is also in double-figures at 10.5 per game. Castrillo ranks fifth in the RMAC in terms of field goal percentage (54) and is 13^th in rebounding per game. Scott, who leads the team with 99 assists, leads the conference in assists per game (6.6) and assist to turnover ratio (1.9). The Mustangs as a team rank seventh in the RMAC in assist/turnover ratio (0.97), fifth in assists per game (14.4) and eighth in blocked shots per game (2.46).


Last year, the teams played a pair of close games with NMHU coming away with both wins. They won the first meeting in Las Vegas, 90-86, and then in the final game of the season in Silver City, 70-67.