GOLDEN – Two of the top four scoring offenses in the conference square off this Saturday as the Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team makes the short trek to rival Colorado Christian in Lakewood for a 5 p.m. clash at the CCU Event Center.
CCU enters the game with the nation's 11th-ranked scoring offense (79.3 ppg) and also leads the RMAC in steals (11.9) and blocks (3.5) per game, while the Orediggers have made a conference-best 235 field goals, averaging 68.0 points per contest.
Mines (6-4, 3-1 RMAC) opened the home portion of their schedule 2-0 for the first time since the 2007-08 season as the women defeated Chadron State 65-59 in Friday's home-opener at Lockridge Arena and Black Hills State 67-59 on Saturday. The Orediggers' 3-1 mark in the RMAC is also the best start since opening conference play 5-0 in 2009-10.
Four starters reached double figures for the first time this season on Friday as sophomore Taylor Helbig equaled her career-high with 22 points; junior Tory Langas finished with 15; senior Angie Charchalis collected 12 and junior Courtney Gallo added 11. The Mines starters combined for 127 of the 132 points (96.2 percent) on the weekend have accounted for 82.3 percent of the total points this season.
Helbig added 20 on Saturday, finishing with team-highs in scoring (21.0 ppg), points (42), field goals (13), three-pointers (6), free throws (10) and total minutes (70). For the weekend, Helbig shot 13-of-26 (50.0 percent) from the field, 6-of-11 (54.5 percent) from distance and 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) at the charity stripe, and also added 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Forward Allie Grazulis went for 13.0 ppg and collected her RMAC-leading third double-double against BHSU with a career-high 26 points (12-of-20) and game-high 11 rebounds. Her 12 field goals were the most in a game by an Oredigger this year. Grazulis helped an Oredigger defense force 32 turnovers over the weekend, accounting for six of the team's 16 steals, and also led Mines with 19 combined rebounds (9.5 rpg), including 12 on the defensive glass,
Classmates Gallo and Langas finished with 12.0 ppg and 9.5 ppg averages, respectively, over the two games. Defensively, the Orediggers forced the Eagles and Yellow Jackets into 32 giveaways, resulting in a 27-to-7 points off turnovers advantage.
CCU (6-2, 3-1 RMAC) improved to 4-0 at home over the weekend with defeats of BHSU and CSC. The RMAC Preseason No. 3 Cougars needed a last second lay-up Friday to top the Yellow Jackets 52-51, before racing past the Eagles 91-64 on Saturday.
Mines leads the all-time series with the Cougars 26-to-18 and swept the season-series a year ago, highlighted by a 65-64 come-from-behind win at home in February as Charchalis curled off a high ball screen and laid in the game-winning basket with only four seconds remaining.
