Mines (3-4, 0-2 RMAC) at Colorado Christian (1-7, 1-1 RMAC) – Friday, 5 p.m. – Lakewood, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (3-4, 0-2 RMAC) at Regis (2-6, 0-2 RMAC) – Saturday, 3 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and all RMAC contests 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".
 
ON THE ROAD
This weekend, the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team continues RMAC play on the road with a local flair, facing Colorado Christian in Lakewood and Regis in Denver. It marks Mines' first conference road games of the season. The Orediggers opened its official league slate last weekend with a pair of losses. Overall, the three teams this weekend hold a combined RMAC record of 1-5. While it may be too early for the term "must win," both Mines and its opponents will be battling to keep themselves out of an early deficit in the conference standings.
 
LAST WEEKEND
Last Friday and Saturday, Mines welcomed Western Colorado and Colorado Mesa to Lockridge arena for the start of RMAC action. The Orediggers dropped their opener to WCU by a score of 66-48. In the loss, Sammy Van Sickle and Courtney Stanton each scored 13 points while Loralee Stock added 10. Van Sickle also added three blocks and six rebounds. Denali Pinto and Megan Van de Graaf matched her with six rebounds apiece as well. On Saturday, Mines narrowly fell to Colorado Mesa in a two-point, 55-53 loss. Stanton fueled the charge with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double. It marked the second double-double of her career and single-game bests in scoring and rebounding for the junior. Van Sickle scored in double digits too, finishing the contest with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and one block.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
At 1-7 overall and 1-1 in RMAC play, Colorado Christian earned its first win of the season just one week ago. The Cougars took down Chadron State, 69-56 in Chadron, Neb., before falling to MSU Denver in Denver, 58-54. Colorado Christian's early scheduled featured losses to St. Edward's and UAFS in Texas while also dropping a pair of contests to Central Washington. Through eight games, Sam Nunez and Brookelyn Hurlbut are both averaging double-digit scoring numbers. Nunez leads all Cougars with 14.5 points per game. Hurlbut puts up 10.0 points per game and tops CCU with 6.0 rebounds per contest. Lourdes Gonzalez comes in just over 2.0 assists per game on the year. She also boasts 10 steals and two blocks. Marie Tsoungui and Nunez both lead the team defensively, touting 13 steals each.
 
COOL COUGAR FACTS
Colorado Christian uses the nickname Cougars for its athletic teams. Fans that kept up with previews last season learned quite a bit about cougars. Well, that education continues this season as well. Fans may remember from last year that cougars like leftovers, can leap a long distance and have a large home range. What fans may not know is that cougars hold the Guiness record for the animal with the highest number of names with over 40 names in English alone. Cougars that live close to the equator are smaller than those living towards the north and south poles. Only females are involved in parenting while no species, besides humans, preys upon mature cougars in the wild. That means top of the food chain. Last but not least, Cougars can run as fast as 35-45 miles per hour. And now you know.
 
CCU EVENT CENTER
Built with airline hangar-like architecture, the CCU Event Center seats 1,100 and serves as the home for the Cougars' men's and women's basketball teams, and volleyball. The university also holds weekly campus chapel in the event center along with numerous campus-wide events including intramurals and other special activities. Seating goes right down to the floor creating a potentially raucous, intimate atmosphere for CCU home events. The Cougars recently upgraded its floor with the Denver Skyline painted/stained onto the surface.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
Two weeks ago, Regis dropped a 69-55, non-conference showdown to the Orediggers inside Lockridge Arena. Since that time, the Rangers opened RMAC play with a pair of losses to MSU Denver and Chadron State. The loss to MSU Denver came by five points in a 79-74 decision. At Chadron, RU fell by four points in a 69-65 nail-biter. Regis' two wins this season came against UT-Permian Basin and Seattle Pacific by scores of 65-48 and 62-53, respectively. The Rangers host UCCS on Friday before welcoming Mines on Saturday. Individually, Whitney Jacob remains RU's leading scorer and rebounder at 15.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per per game. She was also the leading scorer against Mines. Defensively, Grace O'Neill boasts 10 steals and six blocks through eight games. Emma Sterkel handles the point at a clip of 2.3 assists per game.
 
FAMOUS RANGERS
In the first meeting between Mines and Regis, fans learned that Regis University started in New Mexico. This time around, the focus is famous rangers. The two most famous rangers that might come to mind are Wayne Gretzky and Chuck Norris. But they have nothing to do with Regis University. Some of RU's notable alumni include MLB player Steven Brault, NFL player Arne Herber, Chris Farley's brother John P. Farley and even the mayor of Tulsa, Okla., Dewey F. Bartlett Jr.  However, the most famous alumni of Regis University is easily actor and comedian Bill Murray. That's right, the Saturday Night Live and Caddyshack star attended RU in the Mile High City. He took pre-med classes but did not graduate. In 2007, the school awarded Murray an honorary Doctor of the Humanities degree. And now you know.
 
REGIS FIELDHOUSE
Saturday's game will be held inside Regis Fieldhouse on the campus of Regis just outside downtown Denver. Built in 1960, the venue seats 1,800 spectators and serves as the home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball. The Fieldhouse also served as the site of the first three rounds of the 2017 and 2019 NCAA Volleyball tournament. Seating is arranged in two tiers allowing fans courtside access or a birds-eye view of Regis home events.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thanks to some extensive research by Mines Assistant A.D. for Communications Tim Flynn, the full history of Oredigger women's basketball results is available on the team's record page. That being said, Friday marks the 58th meeting between Mines and CCU. The Orediggers lead the all-time series 34-23 and have won three straight. Their most recent showdown was a 71-36 victory for Mines on Dec. 15, 2018. In that win, Raven Herrera dropped 25 points with 10 rebounds, three steals and a block. Heidi Hammond went off for 15 points on five three-pointers while added an assist and the first block of her career. Against Regis, the Orediggers are 24-53 as the teams meet for the 78th time in program history. In that series, Mines boasts back-to-back wins thanks to last Saturday's 69-55 win. The teams first met on Jan. 23, 1978 and the Orediggers ran away with a 69-39 win.
 
THESE DATES IN HISTORY
In 44 years as a program, Colorado School of Mines Women's basketball has played seven games on Dec. 13 and five contests on Dec. 14. Friday's game at CCU marks the Orediggers third-ever action on Friday the 13th. The first game on the day surrounded with superstition came in 1996 in a 70-52 Mines victory against Adams State. The second such contest was in 2002 in a 51-49 loss to Western Colorado. The Orediggers last game on Dec. 13 was in 2014 while the last contest on Dec. 14 was in 2013. Mines lost the 2014 showdown at home to Black Hills State, 75-64. The Orediggers also lost in 2013 by a margin of 68-59 at Chadron State. Since 2003, Mines boasts a combined record of 4-2 on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. Of historical note, records and research show that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured by troops on Dec. 13, 2003. It just so happens Mines claimed a 75-71 victory at UCCS that very same day. The end.
 
OREDIGGER LEADERS
Mines' scoring leader is Denali Pinto who averages 16.0 points per game. Additionally, her 94.9% free-throw average ranks #2 in the RMAC and #7 in the nation. Pinto's free-throw percentage also has the Orediggers ranked #11 in the nation as a team in that same category. On the glass, Sammy Van Sickle leads Mines thanks to 51 total rebounds at a clip of 7.3 rebounds per game. In the backcourt, Liz Holter touts 18 assists through seven games. She also has eight steals. Defensively, Van Sickle boasts eight blocks and eight steals. However, Ashley Steffeck is tops with nine steals in just six games. In regards to efficiency, Courtney Stanton leads the way with a shooting percentage of 48.1 from the field and 50 from long range. She's 1-2 from the behind the arc thanks to the first three-pointer of her career last week.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines' next action will also be its last of 2019 and this decade. The Orediggers host UCCS on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. Live stats and video of the game will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.