#10 Mines (9-1, 4-0 RMAC) at MSU Denver (2-7, 1-3 RMAC) – Wednesday, 5 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#10 Mines (9-1, 4-0 RMAC) at Western Colorado (2-7, 0-4 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Gunnison, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

FAREWELL TO 2023
The #11-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team will play its last two games of the calendar year this week, traveling to MSU Denver on Wednesday and Western Colorado on Saturday. Tipoff on Wednesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday is slated to start at 1 p.m. The Orediggers currently boast a seven-game win streak with the hopes of making it nine straight victories to close out 2023.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live streaming of each contest will be offered free of charge on the RMAC Network. The RMAC Network can be loaded on your phone or downloaded on any smart TV/live streaming device by searching RMAC. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
SOUTH DAKOTA SWING
Mines traveled to the Rushmore State over the weekend where it defeated South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State. The Orediggers posted an 81-67 score on the Hardrockers on Friday as Shelby Nichols poured in 19 points on 80-percent shooting. Ashley Steffeck, Loralee Stock, and Josephine Howery combined for 38 more points. Nichols also had three steals, three assists and four rebounds. On Saturday, Jenna Siebert exploded for 23 points and Steffeck notched 21 to help Mines down Black Hills State, 87-71. Steffeck rounded out her resume with seven rebounds, six steals, and three assists while Siebert pulled down eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
 
NOTING NICHOLS' WEEKEND
Fifth-year center Shelby Nichols put together a career weekend in South Dakota. She only missed four shots from the floor in 53 minutes of action, giving her a 76.5 shooting percentage across two games. That efficiency resulted in 16.5 points per game. Her 19 points at South Dakota Mines were a career high and came on 8-of-10 shooting. She was 5-of-7 at Black Hills State. The Golden, Colo., native also led the team with five total assists in the two wins. The cherry on top were a career high three steals against the Hardrockers.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Mines made moves up both national rankings on Tuesday. The Orediggers climbed one spot to #10 in the D2CSC Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll. They ascended four spots to #19 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Top-25 Coaches' poll. Non-conference foe Texas Woman's appeared at #7 in both rankings. Another non-conference foe was MSU Billings which held strong at #15 on the media list and  stayed strong at #16 on the coaches' list. No other RMAC team appeared in either top-25. Colorado Mesa did receive votes from the coaches.
 
ASHLEY STEFFECK
Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball has played 10 games of its 2023-24 schedule. To date, Ashley Steffeck has climbed to #6 on the all-time scoring list, #6 in career three-pointers, #3 in career assists, and #4 in career free throws. She already owns nearly every program record in steals and is also approaching the NCAA's top-25 for career steals. Steffeck is also making moves in all-time rebounding with 613 which is 70 shy of Mines' all-time list.
 
TAKE THE CHARITY
After five weeks of play, the Orediggers have shown high acumen at the free-throw line. As of Tuesday, Mines ranked #6 in NCAA Division II in free-throws made per game this season. The Orediggers are also #10 in free-throw percentage, and #36 in free-throw attempts per game. Individually, Ashley Steffeck ranks #10 in DII in total free throws, #12 in free-throw percentage, and #21 in free-throw attempts.
 
NOBODY HAS MORE – NOBODY
Ashley Steffeck continues to rank #1 among all active NCAA basketball players in career steals. That includes men and women across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. She now boasts 359 steals across the last five seasons. That's over 100 more than the leading active men's player in any division. It's also 29 more than the #2 women's player in DII, 39 better than the leading DI women's player, and 46 over the top DIII women's baller. Additionally, Steffeck ranks #2 among active players in NCAA Division II in career steals average at 3.04 per game across 118 games in her career. The Fort Collins, Colo., native needs 41 more swipes to move into NCAA Division II's top-25 all-time steals leaders. It should be noted that steals were not considered an official NCAA Division II category until the 1992-92 season.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver's overall record of 2-7 and 1-3 mark in RMAC play don't tell the full story of the Roadrunners' season so far. They have faced four nationally-ranked teams, and one other that has received votes. All five of those resulted in losses, but still a challenging schedule. Three of the Roadrunners' losses are by five points are less. Three others are by 20 points or more. MSU Denver's two wins so far have come Westminster and Seattle Pacific. Last weekend the Roadrunners dropped a 58-38 loss at Black Hills State and fell to South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, 63-62. As a team, MSU Denvers ranks #12 in the nation in fewest fouls per game this season. Individually, Brianna Sealy is the player to watch as she leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game while averaging 10.1 points per game. Mikylah Espinosa is the only other Roadrunner with a double-digit scoring average at 10.8 points per game. Well-known veteran Tosjanae Bonds has only appeared in two games this season.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE ROADRUNNERS
Colorado School of Mines trails the all-time series against MSU Denver, but the Orediggers have taken three straight from the Roadrunners and seven of the last eight meetings. The two teams most-recently met in the 2022-23 RMAC Tournament Semifinals at Regis Field House. Higher-seeded Mines won that game by a score of 74-66 thanks to Ashley Steffeck's 32 points, five assists, four steals, and four rebounds. The last time the Orediggers lost to the Roadrunners was a 74-67, overtime heartbreaker in Denver on Feb., 2022.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado will face Mines on Saturday with an overall record of 2-7 while sitting 0-4 in RMAC play. Like MSU Denver, WCU faced multiple nationally-ranked programs in non-conference play. The Mountaineers' two wins came back-to-back against Eastern New Mexico, 64-58, and at Northern New Mexico, 63-52. Western lost at Colorado Christian last Thursday by a score of 80-73. They fell at Chadron State on Saturday, 55-49. Overall, the Mountaineers are #22 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game. That ranking is thanks in large part to Rachel Cockman who averages 8.9 boards and 17.2 points per game. Also notable is Jayda Maves who scores 11.0 points per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS
Western Colorado leads the all-time series against Colorado School of Mines by a 38-31 margin. However, the Orediggers have taken six straight from WCU and seven of the last 10. The two teams faced off twice in 2022-23. The Orediggers started with an 80-69 win in Golden, before posting a 94-75 score on the Mountaineers in Gunnison. Jessica Rios was Mines' leading scorer at home with 16 points. Ashley Steffeck hung 20 on WCU in Gunnison along with five steals, four rebounds, and two assists. The last time the Orediggers lost to the Mountaineers was Dec. 18, 2020. It was a 57-51 score inside Lockridge Arena.  
 
200 WINS
Mines' win against St. Edward's on opening weekend gave Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson the 200th win of her career. It makes Simpson the only head coach in program history to reach the milestone. By default, it also makes her the fastest to 200 career wins in the history of Mines women's basketball. The milestone added to Simpson's impressive resume which saw her become the winningest coach in the history of Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball on Dec. 4, 2020, in a 68-53 win over South Dakota Mines inside Lockridge Arena. Simpson is now in her 12th season as skipper of the Orediggers.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson is in her 12th season leading the Mines women's basketball program. During her decade tenure, she has become the winningest coach in program history both in terms of total wins and win percentage at 207-115 (64.2). Simpson is responsible for all three of the program's RMAC titles including regular-season championships in 2015-16, 2020-21, and 2021-22. She has also led the Orediggers in four of their five trips to the NCAA tournament. Simpson is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year who has guided 34 All-RMAC selections including 14 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers, one third-team selection and eight honorable mention performers. She has also coached one RMAC Player of the Year, two RMAC Defensive Players of the Year, and two RMAC Freshman of the Year award winners. Eight of Mines' 13 1,000-point scorers have surpassed the milestone under Simpson's watch. Last season, Ashley Steffeck became the first all-American in program history after earning Honorable Mention All-America status from the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA).
 
UP NEXT
Mines will take the rest of the year off for the holiday break. The Orediggers return to action on Jan. 6 at home against Colorado Christian. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. Free live stats and video will be offered at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on "X" (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.