#9 Mines (21-3, 16-2 RMAC) at Westminster (14-7, 13-4 RMAC) – Friday, 5 p.m. – Salt Lake City, Utah [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#9 Mines (21-3, 16-2 RMAC) at #25 Colorado Mesa (19-4, 14-4 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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THE HOMESTRETCH
This weekend, the #9 Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team takes its final road trip of the 2021-22 regular season. Two of the Orediggers' last four games come at Westminster on Friday and at #25 Colorado Mesa on Saturday. Mines still remains #1 in the RMAC standings, but only by a narrow margin, making each game critical as the Orediggers chase a conference title along with postseason aspirations.
 
MASKS REQUIRED AT WESTMINSTER
Campus policy at Westminster College requires all spectators to wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All of Mines' RMAC contests will stream live and for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. The new watch portal is available online at www.minesathletics.com/tv or www.rmacnetwork.com. Fans can also download the RMAC Network app on their smart TV or device by searching "RMAC" in their respective app stores.
 
RMAC STANDINGS
After the announcement that Chadron State's women would not be able to make up their postponed game at Fort Lewis and Colorado Christian's women would not be able to make it back to Westminster, administrators from around the RMAC voted to change determination of conference champion and conference seeding from standings with win-loss percentage to performance indicator or PI. The decision was made to account for differences in number of conference games played. We would try to explain the performance indicator formula, but there's no quick way to do that. Administrators made the same decision for the men's side after Chadron State's men failed to make up games at Fort Lewis and at Regis. The Eagle men have since postponed a game against Black Hills State as well. All of that to say, the standings fans see listed on the RMAC webpage are not necessarily applicable or accurate.
 
LOOKING BACK
The Orediggers returned home from a five-game road trip last weekend and earned a pair of double-digit wins against Fort Lewis and Western Colorado. Friday saw Mines ground the Skyhawks of Fort Lewis by a score of 84-56 as Denali Pinto tied the program's single-game scoring record with 38 points while breaking the program's single-game record for made three-pointers with 10. Ashley Steffeck also chipped in 12 points with seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. Saturday found the Orediggers rallying for a 65-50 victory against Western Colorado. Courtney Stanton was the star on that night with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. Steffeck and Pinto combined for 23 points as well. The victories extended Mines' active win streak to four and tied the program record for most wins in a season.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster enters the weekend 14-7 overall while sitting 13-4 in RMAC play. The Griffins had been just one game back of Mines in the conference standings before a 71-63 loss at Adams State last Saturday. Over the last five games, WC is 2-3 with another loss at home to then unranked Colorado Mesa. As a team, Westminster ranks #4 in the nation in overall field-goal percentage while averaging 67.1 points per game. Individually, Ashley Greenwood, Sarah McGinley and Abby Mangum all average double-digit scoring numbers led by Greenwood's 17.6 points per game. Hunter Krebs is also notable with her team-high 6.5 rebounds per game and 9.7 points per game. Krebs also averages 1.5 blocks per contest.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa puts its league-leading seven-game win streak on the line Friday against Regis before welcoming Mines to town on Saturday. All but one of CMU's seven consecutive wins have come against teams with a sub-.500 record. The  Mavericks' most notable team stat is the nation's #4 free-throw percentage. They also rank #2 in the RMAC in scoring offense and scoring defense – just behind the Orediggers. Mariah Martin tops the list of numerous Colorado Mesa names to know. She is #7 in the nation in total assists and assists per game, #6 in free-throw percentage, #8 in total field-goal attempts and #18 in the nation in points per game. Her resume features averages of 19.8 points, 5.9 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Also notable is the duo of Daniella Turner and Kelsey Siemons. Turner touts 18.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Siemons puts up 9.6 points, grabs 7.8 rebounds and blocks 2.1 shots per contest.
 
MINES AGAINST THE GRIFFINS
Earlier this season, Mines and Westminster went to overtime at Lockridge Arena as the Orediggers pulled out a 68-66 victory thanks to Ashley Steffeck's game-winning layup in the final second. She finished the game with 11 points, 14 steals, six rebounds and one assist as she broke her own single-game steals record. That win improved Mines to 6-5 in the all-time series against the Griffins. Neither team in the rivalry has ever won or lost more than two straight games to the other. The Orediggers tout two consecutive wins in Salt Lake City dating back to an 80-70 victory on Jan. 3, 2020. Mines' last loss to WC was a 67-62 decision in Golden on Feb. 19, 2021. The defeat came despite Courtney Stanton's 19 points and four rebounds while Sammy Van Sickle posted nine rebounds, seven points and four assists. In this season's meeting, Denali Pinto dropped 20 points while Courtney Stanton added 12 and Liz Holter had 10.
 
MINES AGAINST THE MAVERICKS
While Colorado Mesa holds a hefty, 59-18 lead in the all-time series against Mines, the Orediggers are experiencing their most successful stretch against the Mavericks – ever. Mines has won four straight games against CMU dating back to a 58-50 win in Grand Junction, Colo., on Jan. 22. 2021. Earlier this season, the Orediggers earned a 59-51 victory against Colorado Mesa at Lockridge Arena where Courtney Stanton scored 15 points with five rebounds while Liz Holter poured in 10 points with six assists and four rebounds. In that game, CMU's Daniella Turner exploded for 21 of the Mavericks' 51 points. Only three other individuals scored a basket for Mesa. Mines' last loss to Colorado Mesa was 59-47 on March 6, 2020, in the RMAC Tournament Semifinals at Brownson Arena. In that game, Sammy Van Sickle scored 13 points with seven rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks to earn all-tournament status.
 
RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sammy Van Sickle was voted RMAC Defensive Player of the Week again on Monday after her performances during Mines' 3-0 week. It marked Van Sickle's seventh weekly honor this season. No women's player in the RMAC boasts more weekly awards than Van Sickle during the 2021-22 campaign. She claimed the distinction after returning for Mines following four games away, and her return was triumphant. The Arvada, Colo., native pumped out more than three steals per game with two blocks and 20 rebounds. Thirteen of her 20 rebounds came on the defensive glass as the Orediggers rolled to wins against Regis, Fort Lewis and Western Colorado. Van Sickle's top performance of the week featured nine rebounds, six assists, four steals, two blocks and two points in just 16 minutes against Fort Lewis. The graduate of Ralston Valley High School now ranks #2 in the RMAC in steals per game, #3 in total steals, #5 in rebounding and #6 in blocks per game this season.
 
COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Denali Pinto was announced as CoSIDA Academic All-District earlier on Thursday. It marked Pinto's third selection to the prestigious team in as many years of eligibility. She appeared as one of five members on the District 6 team which includes the Rocky Mountain Athletic and Lone Star Conferences. Her distinction came thanks to her combined performance on the court and in the classroom, and advances her to the ballot for CoSIDA Academic All-America. Pinto's season resume includes a 3.99 GPA as a chemical engineering major which fueled RMAC First-Team All-Academic as well. On the court, Pinto leads the #9-ranked Orediggers in scoring with 14.3 points per game as she became the program's all-time leading scorer earlier this year. The senior guard also averages 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.4 assists per game to go along with 48 baskets from three-point range. To date, Pinto is listed 23 times in the program record book with more records coming in the near future.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The first published edition of the 2021-22 NCAA Regional Rankings came out on Wednesday and Mines debuted at #8 in the South Central Region. For those new to the game, the NCAA Regional Rankings determine which teams advance to the national tournament. The top eight teams in the final rankings released on Sunday, March 6, qualify for the NCAA South Central Region Tournament hosted by the #1 team on the list. In the first publication of the year, Texas A&M-Commerce slotted in at #1. The rest of the rankings featured defending national champion Lubbock Christian #2, Texas Woman's #3, MSU Denver #4, Colorado Mesa #5, West Texas A&M #6 and CSU Pueblo #7. The first two teams out were UT Tyler at #9 and Westminster at #10. If the season ended today, Mines would face Texas A&M-Commerce in Commerce, Texas, for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The latest national rankings – which have zero bearing on teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament – came out on Tuesday. Mines rose to #9 in the media poll sponsored by D2SIDA. The Orediggers also jumped from #17 to #13 in the coaches' poll.  
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
So far this season, the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team has combined to break or tie eight different team and individual records. That list includes individual career scoring, individual single-game scoring, team single-game scoring, single-game three-pointers, single-game steals, most wins in a season, largest margin of victory and longest win streak. However, the Orediggers are far from done breaking records. This weekend alone, it is highly probable that two more records will fall. Denali Pinto is just three free throws away from tying the program's career free throws record. She has 404 and the record is 407. The other record is Mines' single-season steals record. Ashley Steffeck currently boasts 98 steals in 2021-22 and the Orediggers' top mark is 100 set by Gabi Sandoval during the 1995-96 season. That would bring the season total to 10 records broken or tied. Needless to say, Mines' women are balling.
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers close the 2021-22 season next Friday and Saturday with Adams State and CSU Pueblo coming to Lockridge Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at www.minesathletics.com/tickets or at the door. Live stats and video will also be offered at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.