Mines (0-0) at MSU Denver (1-0) – Saturday, 2 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (0-0) at Regis (0-1) – Tuesday, 5 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

---

THE TIME HAS COME
Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball opens its 2020-21 season this Saturday at MSU Denver at 2 p.m. and continue the local road swing on Tuesday at Regis at 5 p.m. After an unprecedented offseason filled with adjustments, changes and uncertainty, the Orediggers (19-10 in 2019-20) will open their campaign returning all five starters and six of their seven leading scorers. Saturday's showdown won't count towards Mines' conference record, but Tuesday will mark the official RMAC opener for 2020-21.
 
NO SPECTATORS THROUGH THE END OF 2020
Spectators will be not allowed to attend any Mines game – home or away – at least through the end of December due to local and state guidelines in Jefferson and Denver counties. Mines Athletics will continue to re-evaluate this policy for home games in the future as conditions allow. In the meantime, all games home and away are streamed live and for free on the RMAC Network, which is also available on the AppleTV, Roku, and AmazonFire app stores.
 
KEEPING UP
The mantra for this season is "be prepared for anything." That certainly has been the case even before Mines has begun play as several schedule changes have occurred. The Orediggers' originally scheduled opening weekend at Chadron State and Black Hills State has been rescheduled for Jan. 3-4, as well as the MSU Denver game being added. More changes are likely to come and will be announced at www.minesathletics.com.
 
GROUND RULES
Earlier this week, the RMAC released information about the season structure and return-to-play guidelines for basketball. All teams will have a 22-game conference schedule (non-conference play being optional), and any game that is not played due to COVID-19 issues will be declared a "no contest." All student-athletes and team support staff must test negative within 72 hours of the game, and in the state of Colorado, everyone in the arena will wear a mask except for the 10 active players on the court. An RMAC champion will be declared if at least five teams complete 50 percent of their originally approved schedule (11 games). The champion and RMAC Tournament qualifiers will be determined by use of the NCAA Division II RPI system.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines' 2019-20 campaign featured an overall mark of 19-11 while going 15-7 in RMAC action. Those marks provided a one-win improvement from the season before and allowed the Orediggers to finish the 2019-20 season ranked fourth in the conference standings. As the #4 seed in the RMAC Tournament, Mines defeated Black Hills State, 66-44, in the quarterfinals before eventually falling to top-seeded Colorado Mesa in the tournament semifinals. Team highlights from the season included a 10-game winning streak that featured an overtime win at South Dakota Mines and a 100-65 victory over CSU Pueblo. It was the first time Mines had ever scored in triple digits in a single game and extended the Orediggers' winning streak against the ThunderWolves to five games.
 
SCOUTING MSU DENVER
MSU Denver, or Metropolitan State University at Denver, opened its season on Friday evening with a 78-72 win over Regis inside the Auraria Event Center. Like the game with Mines, it was a non-conference tilt. True freshman Kendra Parra led the Roadrunners with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting including two three pointers. Jaela Richardson and Allie Navarette chipped in double-double performances with Richardson notching 18 points and 12 rebounds while Navarette provided 17 points and 10 rebounds. Also notable was a 11 points from Alex Carlton and four points, four assists, eight rebounds and three steals provided by Maggie Justinak. As a team, the Roadrunners shot over 40 percent from the field and held Regis to under 33 percent. That helped offset a 48-47 rebounding discrepancy which fell in favor of the Rangers. MSU Denver's win wipes away the bitter taste of a 2019-20 campaign in which the Roadrunner women finished 13-16 overall and 12-10 in the RMAC – bowing out of the conference tournament to Colorado Mesa in the first round.
 
YES, WE'RE DOING THIS AGAIN
Those who have followed Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball for the past two years and also read this preview, know that learning about the opponents and their mascots has become a bit of a tradition. Since it's been 267 days since the Orediggers last contest, we'll start with the basics. Roadrunners, along with being MSU Denver's nickname, are members of the cuckoo family. They are found chiefly in arid country which fits the Denver climate. Despite being considered a bird, Roadrunners are unable to stay airborne for more than a few minutes due to their short wings. The bird can run up to about 17 miles per hour thanks to the unique x-shaped footprint they bear. Roadrunners also have the ability to lower their own body temperatures by going into torpor at nighttime. And so it begins.
 
SCOUTING REGIS
Regis' 2020-21 season opener was also on Friday evening. As previously stated, it was played at MSU Denver and resulted in 78-72 loss for the Rangers. Regis also played an exhibition at NCAA Division I Colorado State on Nov. 25 where the Rangers fell by a score of 111-64. Friday's visitors were led by true freshman Erin Fry who topped all scorers with 27 points. Veteran forward Whitney Jacob chipped in 23 points. Only three other Regis players registered points in the game. On the bright side, Fry and Jacob also made it two double-doubles thanks to 10 rebounds and 13 rebounds, respectively. Also stated above was the Rangers sub-33 shooting percentage. However, the biggest difference maker was a mark of 57.7 percent at the free-throw line where Regis missed 11 free throws.
 
BACK TO REGIS BASICS
Just like with MSU Denver, we're sticking to the basics on our Regis facts. So, here you go. In part, Regis University (formerly Regis College) was originally founded in Las Vegas, N.M. in 1877 by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits. The school later joined with Sacred Heart College in Morrison, Colo., to form what everyone now knows as Regis University in Denver. Who would've thought there was more than one RMAC school in Las Vegas, N.M.? Regis' athletic teams adopted the nickname Rangers which seems appropriate since they're defined as "a keeper of park, forest, or area of countryside," and Denver serves as a gateway to many such areas.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines trails the all-time series against both of its upcoming opponents, but has won three straight against both. The Orediggers have not lost to MSU Denver since January of 2019 and defeated the Roadrunners 69-58 in their last meeting on Feb. 8, 2020. Denali Pinto scored 24 points in that victory while Liz Holter added 19 and Sammy Van Sickle put up a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. Mines' last loss to Regis came in February of 2018. The most recent faceoff resulted in a 75-68 Oredigger victory on Dec. 14, 2019. That win featured 22 points from Courtney Stanton and 20 more from Pinto. Van Sickle added 10 with eight rebounds.
 
LOOK WHO'S BACK
Overall, Mines brings back 11 players from last year's roster. The Oredigger trio of Denali Pinto, Sammy Van Sickle and Courtney Stanton were tabbed as RMAC Preseason Players to Watch. Pinto returns as the defending RMAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring last season at 19.9 points per game – good enough for the program record in total points and points per game. She was also named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year and won the RMAC Summit Award. Van Sickle enters the 2020-21 campaign after claiming RMAC All-Tournament honors last season. She put up 8.8 points and grabbed 8.3 rebounds per game which were complimented by 28 blocks and 42 steals. Courtney Stanton was named Honorable Mention All-RMAC in 2019-20 as a junior after averaging 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. Ashley Steffeck, McKale Grant, Loralee Stock, Raven Herrera, Liz Holter, Heaven McKinley, Shelby Nichols and Megan Van de Graaf return as well.
 
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Last season, Head Coach Brittany Simpson signed two true freshman to bolster her Oredigger squad. The duo arrived in Golden in August and has been working to integrate with the team. Josephine Howery arrives from Colorado Springs and St. Mary's High School. Quincey Baum joins Mines after growing up in Denver with a prep career at Columbine High School. As a senior, Howery averaged 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 4.1 steals per game. Baum put up 9.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals and nearly 1.0 blocks per game.
 
SIMPSON'S SEASON OPENERS
Brittany Simpson is the head coach of Mines entering her ninth season at the helm. Since the 2012-13 season, Simpson has gone 3-5 in season openers. However, Mines has only opened at home once since 2015. Her most recent win in a season opener came in 2018 with a 53-40 win over UAFS out of the Lone Star Conference. Prior to that it was 2014-15 in a 60-58 nail-biter against Eastern New Mexico. The ninth-year head coach also boasts an 80-74 win over then #22 Alaska-Anchorage in her first year at the helm.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team earned a preseason rank of fourth in the RMAC women's basketball coaches' poll released last week by the conference office. The Orediggers claimed 157 points in the poll after going 19-10 overall and 15-7 in the RMAC in 2019-20. Mines' preseason ranking matches its finish from last season after earning the fourth seed in the conference tournament and advancing to the semifinal game against top-seeded Colorado Mesa. The three teams ahead of the Orediggers in the 2020-21 preseason poll include Westminster (177) in third with four first-place votes, Western Colorado (179) with three first-place votes and Colorado Mesa (189) picked to win the league with eight first-place votes.
 
RMAC Preseason Women's Basketball Poll (First-Place Votes)

1. Colorado Mesa – 189 (9)
2. Western Colorado – 179 (3)
3. Westminster – 177 (4)
4. Colorado School of Mines – 157
5. Black Hills State – 138
6. South Dakota Mines – 105
7. Regis – 103
8. Fort Lewis – 102
9. MSU Denver – 95
10. CSU Pueblo – 86
11. Colorado Christian – 81
12. UCCS – 79
13. Adams State – 37
14. Chadron State – 33
15. New Mexico Highlands – 14

 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram at @MinesWBB. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.