Mines (10-6, 7-4 RMAC) at MSU Denver (7-10, 6-5 RMAC) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (10-6, 7-4 RMAC) at Chadron State (3-14, 2-9 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 
ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and RMAC road game can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. 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".
 
FIVE WINS AND COUNTING
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team comes into the weekend as one of the hottest teams in the RMAC, boasting a five-game winning streak over the last three weeks. The only teams with longer streaks are Colorado Mesa (13 games) and Westminster (12 games) and those two are tied for first in the conference standings. Friday and Saturday mark the Orediggers' second road trip this month as they head to MSU Denver Friday and Chadron State Saturday. A pair of wins combined with at least one loss for Western Colorado would move Mines into third place in the league standings. However, numerous other scenarios could see the Orediggers fall as far back as 10th place. Needless to say, the weekend ahead is a big one for Mines.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines built its winning streak to five games last weekend with a 2-0 record featuring wins over South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State. On Friday, the Orediggers took down SDSMT 78-56 behind a quartet of double-digit scorers led by Denali Pinto with 16 points. Saturday was a showdown against the preseason favorite to win the RMAC, Black Hills State. Mines dismantled the Yellow Jackets 67-55 as Pinto notched the first double-double of her career with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Nicole Archambeau joined Pinto in double digits, dropping 13 on BHSU.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver is a bit of a paradox so far this season. Typically a perennial powerhouse in the RMAC, the Roadrunners started the season 1-4 and then lost three straight games in conference play. Now, at 7-10 overall and 6-5 in the league, MSUD appears to making a run after taking down CSU-Pueblo by more than 30 points last weekend. Jaelynn Smith leads the Roadrunners with 16.2 points per game and 96 assists on the season. She ranks #11 in DII in total assists and #12 in assists per game. Emily Hartegan is tops on the glass with 8.3 rebounds per game while also averaging 13.5 points per game. It should also be noted that Jonalyn Wittwer has the top mark in the nation this season with 11 made three-point baskets in one game.
 
CUCKOOS FROM DENVER
MSU Denver's nickname for its athletics teams is the Roadrunners, which are a slender fast-running bird of the cuckoo family. Appropriately named, as it is a bird found chiefly in arid country. While the Roadrunner name has remained consistent, the institutional name has not. Originally founded as an "opportunity school" named Metropolitan State College of Denver, the administration looked to change the name to Denver State University in 2011. This was quickly quashed by privately run University of Denver and the board of trustees settled on Metropolitan State University of Denver, now self-branded as MSU Denver.
 
AURARIA EVENT CENTER
Roadrunner men's and women's basketball play all of their home contests inside the Auraria Event Center. The gym was originally built in 1976 and used primarily for the school's physical education and campus recreation departments. Following numerous upgrades over the years, the AEC features seating for 2,200, one auxiliary gym and the old Jumbotron from Pepsi Center.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Unlike MSU Denver, Chadron State is most recently known for finishing in the bottom half of the league standings. However, despite their 3-14 (2-9 RMAC) record, the Eagles should not be taken lightly. Last Saturday, Chadron State came just seconds from upsetting defending RMAC Champion CSU-Pueblo in a heartbreaking, 68-67 loss. The Eagles have lost three RMAC contests by a total of six points, but are still riding a four-game losing streak. Chadron State's star is Taryn Foxen who puts up 12.2 points per game with 21 steals. Jessica Lovitt leads in rebounding with 5.1 boards per game and Jori Peters has 45 assists in 15 games. Nationally, CSC ranks in the top-100 in just one category – rebounding. The Eagles have 674 total rebounds on the year, just 12 behind Mines.
 
THE MORE YOU KNOW ABOUT EAGLES
Chadron State's athletics teams go by the nickname Eagles. Most commonly known as America's national bird, the Eagle is a large bird of prey with a massive hooked bill and long broad wings, boasting excellent eyesight and powerful soaring flight. At the top of the food chain, some eagle species feed on prey as big as monkeys as sloths and are able to detect their target up to two miles away. There are nearly 60 species of eagles worldwide but just 14 found in North, Central and South America. Eagles' wingspans are about 1.8 meters or nearly six feet. With such a large body, eagle's nests can be quite large with the biggest being 13 feet deep, eight feet wide and over one ton in weight. And now you know.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines has played 135 total games in its combined series against MSU Denver and Chadron State. The Orediggers are 23-52 all-time against MSU Denver and 27-33 versus Chadron State. However, Mines has won five straight games against Chadron State with its last loss to the Eagles coming Feb. 14, 2015. The Orediggers and CSC met twice last season and Nicole Archambeau owned the Eagles to the tune of 20 points per game – including a career-high 27 on Dec. 1. On the flip side, Mines has not defeated MSU Denver since Feb. 25, 2017 in overtime inside Lockridge Arena.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Denali Pinto is quickly becoming a household name for Mines women's basketball. The true freshman leads the Orediggers in scoring with 187 total points at a rate of 13.4 points per game and also averages 4.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, Pinto leads Mines in blocks with 13 on the season. She notched the first double-double of her career last weekend against Black Hills State and has scored 91 points over the Orediggers' winning streak. All that being said, it's not surprising to know Pinto is the #1 freshman scorer in the RMAC and #11 overall. She's tied for #8 in the league in blocks per game and ranks #10 in free-throw percentage. To top it all off, Pinto could become Mines' first true freshman to average double-digit scoring numbers since Ashley Gronewoller did it in the 2002-03 season. For those who don't know, Gronewoller is the Orediggers' all-time leading scorer with 1,466 career points. So there's that.
 
MARGIN OF VICTORY
Mines has outscored its opponents by nearly 100 points this season (1,044-946). The average comes out to 6.2 points per game, but lately the Orediggers are pushing it's victories into double digitis. Mines has won a total of eight games by a double-digit margin including four of its last five. The Orediggers' only two victories not by 10 points or more came against Regis (65-60) and Dixie State (86-81).
 
THE WINDEX WOMEN
Mines is outrebounding its opponents 686-546 (+8.8) through 16 games. This margin ranks #19 in DII and #1 in the RMAC. The Orediggers have outrebounded all but one opponent this season (Western Colorado). Mines' biggest advantage was plus 34 (66-32) at home against Colorado Christian. The Orediggers are also #1 in the RMAC in rebounding offense (42.9) and #2 in offensive rebounds (14.0) while sitting #2 in defensive rebounds (28.9). Individually, Nicole Archambeau and Raven Herrera lead Mines' expertise on the glass as both have over 100 rebounds on the year. Archambeau is #5 in the league with 7.7 boards per game while Herrera ranks #2 on offensive rebounds per game with 3.1.
 
NAVIGATING THE RMAC LOG JAM
Heading into the weekend, the Orediggers have successfully navigated above the log jam that is the RMAC standings. Mines is currently tied for fourth place with CSU-Pueblo and only looking up at three other teams. However, the standings behind the Orediggers are a hot mess just waiting for any team to stumble. A total of six teams sit within one game of each other ranking #6 to #11. Black Hills State sits on the top end at 6-5 in the RMAC and 10-5 overall with Regis at the bottom of the log pile at 5-6 and 9-7. Only the top eight teams make the RMAC tournament which means multiple teams with winning records in conference play could miss the postseason. With just 11 RMAC contests remaining and only three games separating #3 from #11, every game, every minute, every weekend is going to count.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines continues its four-game road swing Feb. 1-2 with a trip south to CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.