GOLDEN, Colo. – Senior Cassidy Budge and true freshman Denali Pinto combined to score 30 fourth-quarter points Saturday night for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team as the Orediggers defeated MSU Denver 69-63 in come-from-behind fashion inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Budge finished the game leading all players with 22 points while also dishing out two assists and grabbing two rebounds – all off the bench. Pinto dropped 18 points in the game with 15 coming in the final period. She added four rebounds, three assists and a steal to her resume as well. Courtney Stanton made it a trio of Orediggers in double digits, finishing the game with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-4 performance at the free-throw line. Nicole Archambeau was huge on the boards with seven rebounds. Anna Kollmorgen's four assists led all players as did Raven Herrera's three steals.
 
Mines' victory avenges its loss to the Roadrunners earlier this season and keeps the Orediggers (14-8, 11-6 RMAC) in a three-way tie for third place in the RMAC standings. Mines has now won four straight games. The loss drops MSU Denver (11-12, 10-7 RMAC) under .500 for the season and into a tie for sixth place. The Orediggers earned the victory despite being out-rebounded 31-28. The Roadrunners also scored more field goals than Mines (26-20), but the home team made up the difference by going 26-of-31 at the free-throw line.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half of action featured just 38 total points with a combined 14 field goals for both teams. It also featured a dry spell of nine minutes in which neither team scored from the field and Mines managed just one point from the free-throw line while MSU Denver was completely shutout. The largest lead of the half was four, in favor of the Orediggers. Stanton led all players with eight points on perfect shooting from the floor and from the charity stripe.
 
A 19-19 halftime score led both teams to make adjustments on offense and the second half of play did not disappoint. In the third period alone, both teams managed to more than double the combined score of the game as the Roadrunners scored 22 while Mines put up 17. Budge fueled the run for the Orediggers with her first seven points of the game. She did not miss a single shot in nine minutes of action in the third frame. However, that outburst paled in comparison to the final period of the night.
 
MSU Denver carried a 41-36 advantage into the fourth quarter and notched its biggest lead of the game just 19 seconds in on a layup, making it 43-36, MSU Denver. Both team exchanged baskets over the next three minutes as Mines reduced the Roadrunners advantage to just one point behind four straight points from Pinto and five more from Budge.
 
The turning point of the entire game came with 4:21 left to play. Herrera forced a turnover by Jaiden Galloway and grabbed the steal. She found Pinto on the run who dished it to Budge on the right wing. The senior out of Rampart High School did not flinch as she sank the fast-break three-pointer while also drawing a foul on the play. Budge sank the free-throw to give Mines a 52-49 lead.
 
With full control of the momentum, the Orediggers would not look back. Budge and Pinto accounted for all but one of Mines' points in the final 4:13 of play. MSU Denver would pull within one point multiple times but never tie or lead the contest again. Appropriately, Budge clinched the victory with four straight free-throws in the last 16 seconds. In total, Budge and Pinto combined for 16 points in the final four minutes, 15 points each in the fourth quarter and 40 points in the game.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 24-53 in the all-time series against MSU Denver.
- Saturday marks the Orediggers' first win over the Roadrunners since Feb. 25, 2017 – also inside Lockridge Arena.
- Budge's 22 points are a career high for the senior and the most she's scored since dropping 31 at Adams State last season.
- Pinto averaged 17 points per game on the weekend without scoring a three-point basket.
- Pinto has scored 90 points over the last four games for an average of 22.5 points per game.
- MSU Denver's Jaelynn Smith entered the game averaging 17.0 points per contest. Mines' defense limited her to just 11 points Saturday night.
- The Orediggers' defense also limited the Roadrunners to just 3-of-20 from behind the arc.
- Saturday's game featured eight ties and eight lead changes. The score was tied for a total of 8:14.
- Pinto's 18 points against MSU Denver put the freshman over 300 on the season.
- Head coach Brittany Simpson is 109-85 in seven years at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts New Mexico Highlands and CSU-Pueblo Feb. 15-16 inside Lockridge Arena. Additionally, Feb. 15 is Family & Parent night for Oredigger women's basketball while Feb. 16 is Alumni Night. Live stats and video of the games 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.