When Colorado State Pueblo opens practice Friday, the women’s basketball team will feature a roster of eight returnees and five newcomers as Tommie Johnson returns for his sixth season as the Pack coach.
Center Alisha Little, one of the country’s top front liners, headlines the ThunderWolves returnee. The NCAA Division II leader in double-doubles (24) and block shots (116) last season, Little is starting her third full season at CSU Pueblo.
Little averaged 20.8 points and 11.9 rebounds a game during the 2023-2024 campaign as the Pack finished with a 17-15 record and a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference semi-finals after upsetting regular-season champion Colorado Mesa in the league post-season quarterfinals.
In addition to all-RMAC first-team honors, Little was named the league’s top defender and was an honorable mention Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American.
For her career as a Colorado collegiate player with her first two seasons at Northern Colorado (2019-2021), Little ranks among “The Centennial State’s” all-time best in scoring 12th (1,898 points, 114 games, 16.6 average), rebounding (7th, 1,050, 114, 9.2), and blocked shots (1st, 320, 114, 2.8).
Joining Little as returning starters are seniors Landri Hudson (7.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists per game), Tomia Johnson (6.7, 2.2, 3.4), and Autumn Watts (10.1, 6.1, 1.7). Also back for the Pack are senior Yara Garcia (1.6, 1.3, 0.5), junior Shamahra Henderson (3.7, 2.7, 1.1), and sophomores Jolene Ramiro (2.4, 1.3, 1.5) and Brynae Stewart (0.9, 0.9, 0.2).
Newcomers are senior Tosjanae Bonds (Denver, Colo., Martin Luther King Jr. Early College, MSU Denver), juniors Genesis Sweetwine (Aurora, Colo., Rangeview High, Northeastern JC), Destiny Smith (Tulsa, Okla., Memorial High, Cloud County CC & Garden City CC), and freshmen Diamond Stevenson (Glendale, Ariz., Deer Valley High) and Brooklyn Meza (Windsor, Colo., Roosevelt High).
Sweetwine played two seasons at Northeastern Community College, averaging 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She helped lead the Plainswomen to the finals of the Region IX tournament and a 28-4. NCC was coached by former Pack player Bronson Moton (2014-2016).
Smith averaged 8.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game at Cloud County last season. Bond played four seasons at MSU Denver, where she started 65 of 96 contests for the Roadrunners. She averaged 7.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.
In high school last season, Stevenson averaged 18.2 points a game at Deer Valley in Arizona. Meza scored 10 points per contest as her Roosevelt team won the Colorado State 5A title for the second straight season.
CSU Pueblo opens the season on November 8 and 9 in Tyler, Texas, for the South Central Region Crossover event, where the Pack starts with UT Tyler and ends with Lubbock Christian. The ThunderWolves’ first home games are the following weekend versus Texas A&M Kingsville and Missouri Western on November 15 and 16 at Massari Western.
RMAC plays begin on December 5 and 7 for the Pack, with road games at Westminster in Salt Lake City and at Western Colorado in Gunnison. The following week, the Pack plays at home against Chadron State and South Dakota Mines on December 12 and 14.
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