GOLDEN – The Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team opened their four-game homestand on a high-note Friday evening, defeating Regis 71-70 in overtime at Lockridge Arena in Golden.
Down 40-30 at the 17:08 mark of the second after a quick 10-2 opening burst by the Rangers, the Orediggers scored the next 10 unanswered points as part of a 22-to-8 run that covered nearly 11 minutes, eventually building a 52-48 lead with 6:13 remaining.
Despite taking a four-point lead with 3:08 remaining, the Orediggers found themselves down 57-56 with 1:18 to go before junior Courtney Gallo buried her second triple to go back in front with under a minute to play. After two Regis free throws with 40 seconds left, Mines got two looks in the final closing seconds, yet both attempts went awry as the teams headed to their first overtime of the season, 59-59.
With both offenses stagnant for nearly three-fourths of the evening, it was not until midway through the second half when the teams finally got into a rhythm offensively, combining for 40 points, five ties and seven lead changes in the final 11:05.
It was all Orediggers in the extra session though as sophomore Taylor Helbig scored the first six points in a 42-second span and gave Mines a 69-61 advantage with a steal – one of her three in the period – and fast-break lay-in with 2:12 left. Junior Allie Grazulis added a pair of lay-ups as the Orediggers hit on 5-of-7 field goals (71.4 percent) in the overtime.
Even at 12 with 9:23 to play in the first half, senior Angie Charchalis scored seven straight in a stretch of 1:34 to put Mines in front 19-14. Following a pair of Regis free throws, Gallo lined her first trey for the Orediggers' largest lead of the half at 22-16, but the Rangers answered with a 14-to-2 burst over the ensuing 5:02 for a 30-24 lead with 1:09 remaining.
Mines closed within 30-28 at the break as Gallo banked in a short right wing jumper on the break and freshman Courtney Martin laid in a Helbig pass with three ticks left.
For the second time in three games and third time this season, four Oredigger starters reached double figures. Grazulis led the way with a team-high 16 points and eight boards, going 6-of-6 at the free throw line; Gallo hit a season-best six field goals on her way to 15 points and Charchalis added 11.
After just two points and one field goal in regulation, Helbig recorded her eighth straight game of double digit scoring with eight of her 10 points coming on 3-of-4 shooting in overtime. She matched her career-best with a game-high five assists, while her three steals also set a new career mark.
Sophomore Danielle Skinner led Mines to a 15-3 advantage in bench points, finishing with a career-high nine points on 4-of-7 shooting and four assists. Martin finished with four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes and senior Taylor McBain was one off her season-high with seven boards.
With her right baseline jumper at the 12:38 mark of the second, Charchalis, the RMAC's fifth-leading scorer at 15.4 per game, moved ahead of Ja'net Proctor (1992-96) for fifth on the Mines career scoring chart with 1,228 points.
Sarah Feeny recorded a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rangers, while Tae'lor Purdy collected 15 and Brandi Collins had 14.
The Orediggers – winners of six of the last seven contests versus Regis – remained in the upper-half of the RMAC standings in a three-way tie for third at 6-2 and moved back to four games above .500 at 9-5 overall. Meanwhile, the Rangers fell to 6-6 and 5-3 in the conference with their first loss in their past five games.
The women close out their "Denver-weekend" at 5 p.m. tomorrow against two-time defending regular season RMAC Champion and NCAA Sweet Sixteen finalist Metro State (9-4, 7-1 RMAC).
HIGHLIGHTS - Courtesy RMAC
