Mines (12-8, 9-6 RMAC) vs. Chadron State (4-17, 3-12 RMAC) – Friday, 6 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (12-8, 9-6 RMAC) vs. MSU Denver (11-10, 10-5 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and RMAC road game can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC".
 
ROCK THE LOCK
Saturday's men's and women's basketball doubleheader against MSU Denver marks Mines' annual "Rock the Lock" event.  The evening features a pre-game tailgate sponsored by Residence Life starting at 4:30 along with a photo booth, yard games, free giveaways and much, much more. Also on the docket are the Colorado Disc Dogs slated for halftime of the women's and men's games. Mines is calling all fans to come out, get loud and cheer the Orediggers on to victory.
 
SHOT AT REDEMPTION
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team returns to Lockridge Arena Friday and Saturday following a four-game, RMAC road trip. It marks a shot at redemption for the Orediggers as they host Chadron State and MSU Denver, a duo that dealt Mines a 0-2 weekend just two weeks ago. Chadron State takes the court Friday with MSU Denver slated Saturday. Both teams carry the swagger of knowing they've beaten Mines before, but the Orediggers carry the momentum of a two-game win streak and home-court advantage. A 2-0 weekend could move mines into third place in the RMAC standings. However, a split or worse could drop the Orediggers out of the top eight.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines' trip south was a productive one as the Orediggers knocked of defending RMAC Champion CSU-Pueblo 66-47 and New Mexico Highlands 69-38. The defense was on point as it surrendered just 28 points in the first half over both games. However, the headline all weekend was Denali Pinto who dropped 33 points on the ThunderWolves and 23 more against the Cowgirls. The most amazing part was she did it all in 56 minutes, only playing a combined three minutes in the fourth quarter. Pinto finished the weekend averaging 28 points, six rebounds and three assists per game as Mines picked up its ninth and 10th double-digit wins of the season.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Chadron State comes into Golden with just three wins in RMAC play (3-12) and four wins overall (4-17). However, as previously stated, the Eagles carry the confidence of its win over Mines earlier this season. After its 76-73 win over the Orediggers, CSC proceeded to lose back-to-back games to Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines, both by double digits. Jessica Harvey and Taryn Foxen continue to lead the offense with 11.1 and 11.0 points per game, respectively. On defense, Foxen has 24 steals on the season while McKenna McLintic boasts 23 of her own. Jessica Lovitt controls the glass for the Eagles with 103 rebounds at a rate of 4.9 boards per game.
 
FUN EAGLE FACTS
Two weeks ago, fans learned that Chadron State uses Eagles as the nickname for its athletic teams along with some basic knowledge about America's national bird. This time around, fans might be interested to know that eagles aren't all that American. In fact, eagles are featured prominently on the coat of arms of Germany, Mexico, Egypt, Poland and Austria. Ironically, the eagle does not appear anywhere on the United States' flag. Speaking of bald eagles, they really aren't bald. Additionally, female bald eagles are larger than males and most bald eagles live for around 20 years in the wild. And now you know.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver travels to UCCS Friday before coming to Golden Saturday. The Roadrunners come into the weekend riding a six-game winning streak that includes their earlier win over Mines. Since that victory in Denver, the Roadrunners have run off victories over UCCS, South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State. Two of those wins came by double digits. MSU Denver currently holds a one-game lead on Mines in the RMAC standings, sitting 10-5 in the league and 11-10 overall. Jaelynn Smith is the leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points per game with Emily Hartegan also in double digits at 13.9 points per game. Smith also captains the offense with 120 assists on the season while Hartegan rules the boards with 8.3 rebounds per game. Nationally, MSU Denver ranks #34 in NCAA Division II in scoring defense.
 
MORE ON ROADRUNNERS
Earlier this season, fans learned that roadrunners are slender, fast-running birds of the cuckoo family. It was also noted that the institution has gone through a number of name changes. For the second go-around, we present potentially fun and interesting facts about roadrunners. Despite Looney Toons depicting a roadrunner outracing a coyote, the bird's top speed is only 20 miles per hour while coyotes max out over 40 miles per hour. Roadrunners are also known as chaparral cocks and snake killers. The later name comes from the bird's preference for rattlesnake meat as a snack. Typically, roadrunners team up to best the feared viper by distracting then pinning its head on a rock and stabbing it with its bill. Apologies for the graphic nature of these fun facts. Finally, fans might be interested to know that roadrunners never need to drink water. The desert bird is so adapted to its arid environment that it has no need to sip water. Roadrunners get all the moisture they need from their diet. And now you know.
 
LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Fondly referred to as "The Lock", Mines' home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball features seating for 3,000 at Oredigger home athletics events. The venue has also twice hosted the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Tournament. Additionally, Lockridge Arena hosts numerous major campus events and has been graced by the presence of Barack Obama, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and many others.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Not much has changed since the last time these teams played. Mines is now 23-53 in the all-time series against MSU Denver and 27-34 against Chadron State. The Orediggers are 5-1 in their last six against the Eagles. Mines' last victory over MSU Denver was Feb. 25,2017 inside Lockridge Arena. In the first meeting this season, Anna Kollmorgen and Courtney Stanton each dropped 19 points on Chadron State while Denali Pinto added 17. Kollmorgen also scored 16 at MSU Denver and Pinto contributed 10.
 
RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Unsurprisingly, Denali Pinto was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week following her performances at CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. It marks the first offensive award and second RMAC weekly award for Pinto this season. Pinto's final line was 28 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal per game. The Boulder native outscored the entire ThunderWolves' squad through three quarters of action with 31 points after 30 minutes compared to 29 combined for CSU-Pueblo. Pinto's 33 points Friday night tied for second-most in a single game in the RMAC this season and rank #4 in Mines' all-time, single-game scoring list.
 
DENALI PINTO GETS BUCKETS
If folks are tired of hearing about Denali Pinto, then someone should figure out how to stop her. The true freshman currently ranks #4 in the RMAC in scoring and is the #1 freshman scorer in the league. Her 15.0 points per game also rank #7 among freshman across the country. Pinto also ranks #7 in the RMAC in field-goal percentage, #10 in free-throw percentage, #14 in three-point field goal percentage and blocks per game and #25 in assists per game. It's been said before, but Pinto is on pace to become Mines' first freshman to average double-digit scoring numbers since Ashley Gronewoller did it in the 2002-03 season. Gronewoller is Mines' all-time leading scorer with 1,466 points in her career. At the very worst, if Pinto continues scoring 15.0 points per game, she'll finish the season with 375 points. That's the most since Emily Bailey scored 485 in the 2016-17 season. Bailey is Mines' most-recent edition to the 1,000-point club. In summary, Denali Pinto gets buckets.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLES ARE FUN
Last Saturday at New Mexico Highlands, Raven Herrera nearly notched her fifth double-double of the season. While she just missed it by two rebounds, it makes this a perfect time to look at the double-double damage Mines has done so far this season. Overall, three different Orediggers have combined for seven double-doubles this season. Herrera, obviously, has four. Nicole Archambeau boasts two and Denali Pinto got the first of her career against Black Hills State on Jan. 19. Archambeau has 13 double-doubles in her two years with the Orediggers. Additionally, Anna Kollmorgen has three double-doubles to her name. At this point, no other Orediggers have recorded a double-double in their career, but there are still seven games remaining in the season.
 
OREDIGGER MILESTONES
Cassidy Budge leads the way in the realm of Oredigger milestones. That is to say, she currently ranks #4 on Mines' all-time, three-pointers list and needs just 22 more to take over third place. Anna Kollmorgen currently sits fifth in career assists, just 12 helpers away from tying for #4 and 13 away from taking over the slot all by herself. Other milestones to note include Nicole Archambeau surpassing 500 points, 400 rebounds and 100 assists for her career. Raven Herrera just cracked 300-career points and is just three boards away from 200 career rebounds. Denali Pinto has a good shot at breaking the 300-point plane in her first season as an Oredigger. Fans should also watch for Courtney Stanton as she's on pace to break 200 points and 200 rebounds.
 
RMAC RUNDOWN
Let's try to make this simple. There are seven RMAC games remaining in the regular season. Colorado Mesa is #1 in the RMAC standings at 15-0 in league play and holds all the tiebreakers to this point. Westminster is #2 at 14-1. The Griffins only conference loss is to Colorado Mesa. Western Colorado and MSU Denver round out the top four at 10-5 in the league. However, that is where the cluster begins with eight teams only three games apart. Colorado Mesa and Westminster seem to be the only locks for the RMAC Tournament at this point. The rest will work itself out.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines remains in the friendly confines of Lockridge Arena as it hosts New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo Feb. 15-16. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.