GOLDEN, Colo. – Senior Nicole Archambeau racked up another double-double Saturday night as the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team defeated CSU-Pueblo 70-54 inside Lockridge Arena – sweeping the regular-season series against the ThunderWolves.
 
Archambeau led all players in three different categories including her 22 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. The Canon City, Colo., native went 7-for-13 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Fellow forward Courtney Stanton had herself a night as well, dropping a career-high 21 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Stanton also notched two steals. Cassidy Budge was solid off the bench yet again as she tallied nine points on the night.
 
Mines' win gives the Orediggers (16-8, 13-6 RMAC) their longest winning streak of the season with six straight victories. It also puts Mines alone in third place in the RMAC standings. CSU-Pueblo (14-11, 12-7 RMAC) falls back into a three-way tie for fourth place in the league rankings. Mines finished the game shooting 47 percent from the floor and nearly 43 percent from three-point range. Once again, the Orediggers also out-rebounded its opponent 37-26. The ThunderWolves converted long-range shots at a rate of 46 percent but only managed 63 percent at the free-throw line.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
While Mines did not lead the game from start to finish, it might was well have. CSU-Pueblo managed to tie the game twice in the opening frame after Archambeau put the Orediggers ahead early. The ThunderWolves even found the lead twice in the first period, but only managed to hold it for a total of 48 seconds. With less than a minute to play in the first quarter, Archambeau drained a three-point basket to give the home team a 16-14 lead and the Orediggers never looked back.
 
CSU-Pueblo did manage to tie the game, 19-19, early in the second quarter, but Stanton's eight points in the second 10 minutes were too much for the ThunderWolves. With 5:42 remaining before halftime, Archambeau struck again with a layup to spark a 6-0 run that featured four more points from Stanton and extended the Orediggers' lead to 10 points. A late three from CSU-Pueblo sent the game into halftime with Mines leading 33-26.
 
The Orediggers continued to rely on their forwards in the second half and the ladies did not disappoint. Archambeau teamed up with Megan Van de Graaf in the pick-and-roll game that resulted in two assists for Archambeau and four points for Van de Graaf. In fact, Archambeau dished out five of her six assists in the final 20 minutes, but CSU-Pueblo did manage to outscore Mines 18-15 in the third period.
 
However, Mines would finish strong as it racked up 22 points in the final period. A 12-0 run sparked by none other than Archambeau and fueled by Stanton helped the Orediggers clinch the victory. Mines found its largest lead of the game in the final seconds thanks to a Stanton free-throw making it 70-52 in favor of the home team.
 
Saturday night's contest featured four ties and four lead changes, all coming in the first 12 minutes of action. Mines racked up 32 points in the paint compared to just 18 by CSU-Pueblo. The Orediggers also benefited from 15 points off the bench while the beleaguered ThunderWolves only found one point from their reserves.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 20-36 in the all-time series against CSU-Pueblo.
- Saturday marked the Orediggers' first back-to-back wins over the ThunderWolves since the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
- Archambeau has three double-doubles this season and 14 in her two years at Mines. Her six assists also match her career high set in 2017 against Regis.
- Stanton's 21 points mark a career high and the first 20-point performance of her career. She finished the weekend with 37 points, leading Mines with 18.5 per game.
- Stanton also went back-to-back games with career highs in assists and finished the weekend with eight.
- Stanton is now over 200 points for her career.
- Cassidy Budge averaged 15 points per game on the weekend with nine total three-point baskets.
- Saturday marked Alumni Night for the women's team as they celebrated Head Coach Brittany Simpson's 100th career win achieved earlier this season.
- The Orediggers are one win away from clinching a berth in the 2019 RMAC Tournament.
- Head coach Brittany Simpson is 111-85 in seven years at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines travels to Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines Feb. 22-23 in its final road trip of the regular season. 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.