[4] Mines (18-10) at [1] #16 Colorado Mesa (24-3) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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ON THE RMAC NETWORK
The RMAC/Under Armour Women's Basketball Tournament semifinals and finals can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at www.minesathletics.com/tv or at RMACSPORTS.TV. Play-by-play will be provided by Jason Carter with color commentary from Eric Flores. 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".
 
FOR THE CUP
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team takes one step closer to hoisting its first-ever RMAC cup this weekend as it travels west to Grand Junction, Colo., for the RMAC/Under Armour Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals. Mines is pitted against top-seeded host and regular-season conference champion Colorado Mesa as it makes its first semifinals appearance in exactly 10 years. An upset Friday puts the Orediggers into the championship game for the third time in program history while a loss brings the 2018-19 season to a close. With Mesa nationally ranked and undefeated at home this season, Mines will look to engineer some Oredigger magic to move even closer to its first RMAC Tournament title.
 
QUARTERFINAL RECAP – BREAKING THE STREAK
Mines opened its 2019 conference postseason on Tuesday by hosting CSU-Pueblo inside Lockridge Arena in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Orediggers ground out a 62-57 victory over the ThunderWolves to complete a 3-0, full season sweep of CSU-Pueblo. Nicole Archambeau led the charge with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. She scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help Mines hold on for the win. Raven Herrera and Anna Kollmorgen also scored in double digits with 14 points and 13 points, respectively. Herrera flexed her defensive muscle as well with four steals and two blocks. The victory was head coach Brittany Simpson's first-ever postseason win and the first for Mines since 2009.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
At 24-3 overall and 20-2 in conference play, Colorado Mesa has dominated the RMAC this season. The Mavericks' only two league losses came at the hands of Westminster and Colorado Christian, but both were on the road. CMU is a perfect 14-0 inside Brownson Arena, and it hasn't even been close. Mesa's average margin of victory at home in 2018-19 is 17.5 points overall and 18.3 in the regular season. Only three wins on the Mavericks' home court have come by single digits. Freshly-minted RMAC Player of the Year Jaylyn Duran leads the entire RMAC with 18.4 points per game. Nobody else on the team is even close to double-digit scoring averages. Sydni Brandon is tops for Mesa on the glass with 7.4 rebounds per game. Brandon also averages 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Nationally, Colorado Mesa ranks #2 in scoring defense, #3 in fewest turnovers and #7 in turnovers per game. Individually, Brandon is #1 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. In summary, the Mavericks are solid on defense and take care of the ball.
 
FUN COW FACTS
For those who may have forgotten, a quick review reminds us that a maverick – Colorado Mesa's athletics nickname and mascot – is an unbranded calf or yearling – a cow. We'll ignore the gross inaccuracies between the Mavericks' logo and actual definition of their name and move right into fun cow facts. While America is (somewhat) historically known for its red-meat eating, carnivorous ways, the U.S.A. does not actually have the most cows. As of 2016, India had the largest cattle inventory on the planet followed by Brazil and then China. There are over 800 different cattle breeds and none of them eat meat – ever. Possibly the most interesting fact about cows is they can see almost 360 degrees – allowing them to watch for predators from all angles. Ironically, they don't see so well straight in front of them. Cows can detect odors of to six miles away and don't like to be alone. Bovine have 32 teeth but no upper front teeth. All that being said, the author never imagined writing nearly 200 words about cows, but here we are.
 
BROWNSON ARENA
Colorado Mesa basketball, wrestling and volleyball all compete inside Brownson Arena. Opened in 1968 boasting seating for 1,800, Brownson Arena was most recently renovated in 2009 with the addition of seat-back bleachers on the west wall and expanded seating on the east wall. New scoreboards and sound system allow CMU to tout the facility as, "one of the best small college facilities in the country." The renovations also added luxury suites overlooking the gym. Generally speaking, the arena maintains a standard layout with stands on either side but not at the ends. Fans can park just east of the main entrance in the Maverick Center parking garage.
 
REMEMBERING THE MAVERICKS
Mines and Colorado Mesa played once in the 2018-19 regular season and it was a 50-45 Oredigger loss in Grand Junction. Mines' five-point loss to CMU also ties for the Mavericks' most narrow victory of the season in any game – home or away. The senior trio of Anna Kollmorgen, Nicole Archambeau and Madelene McDonald combined for 35 points. Kollmorgen and Archambeau scored 12 apiece while McDonald dropped her career high with 11. Denali Pinto dished out three assists and Sammy Van Sickle notched two blocks. On the other side, Jaylyn Duran scored 25 points for CMU. No other Maverick scored more than five points. It would seem if Mines can stop Duran, it bodes well for a semifinal upset on Friday night.
 
A LITTLE EXTRA
We'd like to take this moment to address multiple elephants "in the room". Friday's semifinal showdown means a little extra to the Orediggers for more reasons than one. Mines has not defeated Colorado Mesa since Dec. 18, 2015 in a 63-60 nail biter inside Lockridge Arena. Furthermore, the Orediggers haven't won in Grand Junction since Dec. 12, 2008 with a dominant, 67-49 victory over the Mavericks. After breaking the decade-long semifinals drought on Tuesday, it seems Mines could be poised to break both these droughts on Friday as well. Also, it's no secret Mines' head coach Brittany Simpson played her college ball for the Mavericks. She's still Mesa's all-time leader in career free-throw percentage at 89.1 from 2003-06 and would most likely love to defeat her old team on their court. The final piece of the puzzle is Oredigger senior Nicole Archambeau. She started her collegiate career at Colorado Mesa before transferring to Mines after her sophomore year. Since departing the Western Slope, Archambeau has scored more than 600 points with nearly 500 rebounds and over 130 assists in just two years in Golden and Friday could be a little extra for her as well. However, at the end of the day, it is the postseason and "win or go home" is the name of the game.
 
SEMIFINALS SUCCESS
Mines has made two previous trips to the RMAC Tournament semifinals in 2006 and 2009. The Orediggers are a perfect 2-0 in those appearances. The 2006 edition featured Mines against Nebraska-Kearney after the Orediggers defeated Regis 71-57 in the quarterfinals. Iva Tomova scored 21 points and Ashley Gronewoller grabbed nine rebounds in the 67-61 victory over the Lopers. The Orediggers eventually lost to CSU-Pueblo 65-54 in the championship game. The 2009 tournament was nearly a carbon copy with Mines defeating Regis 73-59 in the opening round before taking down Nebraska-Kearney again, 63-56. Brecca Gaffney led the Orediggers with 14 points and eight rebounds. However, Mines' second finals appearance would be spoiled by CSU-Pueblo once again, 62-42.
 
RMAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Denali Pinto was named RMAC Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-RMAC on Tuesday right before Mines' first-round win over CSU-Pueblo. Pinto becomes Mines' second-ever RMAC Freshman of the Year after Laura Tyree garnered the honor in the 2013-14 season. The Boulder, Colo., native's individual award and first-team nod were fueled by 14.6 points per game in the regular season which ranks #5 across the entire league.  She also ranked #8 in the RMAC in field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage while slotting into the top-25 in three other categories. Pinto's scoring numbers were also tops for the Orediggers along with her 39 three-point field goals, 76 free throws and 17 blocks. The guard's top performance of the year came at CSU-Pueblo when she dropped 33 points and outscored the entire opposition through three quarters. That 33-point outburst ranks #4 all-time at Mines and #2 in the RMAC this season. Pinto was also named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season.
 
SECOND-TEAM ALL-RMAC
Nicole Archambeau was named Second-Team All-RMAC on Tuesday, joining teammate Pinto on the All-RMAC squads. Archambeau's distinction gives the senior back-to-back Second-Team All-RMAC honors. In the regular season, she ranked #5 in the conference in rebounds per game, total rebounds, total defensive rebounds and defensive rebounds per game while sitting #9 in total offensive rebounds and offensive rebounds per game. The power forward also ranked #14 in the league in assists per game. Archambeau racked up three double-doubles on the year bringing her career total to 14. The Canon City, Colo., native's best performance also came against CSU-Pueblo, but inside Lockridge Arena. The senior put up 22 points with 13 rebounds to complete the regular-season sweep of the ThunderWolves. Over her last six games, Archambeau is averaging 9.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest.
 
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-RMAC
Raven Herrera earned the first All-RMAC honor of her career on Tuesday as she was named Honorable Mention. The redshirt sophomore notched four double-doubles through the regular season – the first four of her career. She also ranked #2 in the RMAC in total offensive rebounds, #3 in offensive rebounds per game and #12 in total rebounds. Defensively, the forward came in #12 in the RMAC in steals per game. Herrera's most complete game was a 25-point, 10-rebound outburst against Colorado Christian where she also grabbed three steals and blocked one shot. Against Dixie State, the Albuquerque, N.M., native put up 20 points with seven rebounds and six steals.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The NCAA Regional Rankings determine which programs advance to the NCAA Tournament. In women's basketball, it's the top eight teams in the South Central Region with the #1 seed hosting the first three rounds. Currently, Mines does not appear in the top 10 in the region. This means it's truly win or go home for the Orediggers. If Mines does win the conference tournament it claims the automatic qualifier for the league and would most likely face the current #1 seed, West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas.
 
DEPARTMENT-WIDE SUCCESS
Mines has already won six RMAC regular-season and two RMAC Tournament championships this year. That marks the most regular-season titles ever in a year for Mines Athletics and has already tied the total RMAC championships in a year at eight, set in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. As a department, the Orediggers are 139-38-2 overall and 96-14-1 in the RMAC – all in head-to-head completion. Mines' total slate has featured 23 ranked opponents.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
If Mines wins Friday evening, it will face the winner of Westminster and Black Hills State in the tournament championship game on Saturday at 6 p.m. A loss would bring the Orediggers' 2018-19 season to a close. Live stats and video of all tournament games will be available at www.minesathletics.com.