GOLDEN, Colo. – Junior guard Denali Pinto surged passed 1,000 points for her career on Friday night as the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team claimed a 75-63 win over Fort Lewis inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Pinto entered the evening needing six points to hit the milestone and proceeded to score 22 on 7-of-13 shooting including three long-range baskets. She augmented her game resume with five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. Other double-digit scorers for Mines included Liz Holter boasting 13 and Courtney Stanton chipping in 12. Holter's night was even more impressive thanks to four steals and two assists to go along with her first double-digit outing of the season. Also of note were five assists from Ashley Steffeck and six rebounds apiece from Stanton and Sammy Van Sickle.
 
In an evenly matched game overall, Mines (4-1, 3-1 RMAC) found its success through the assist-to-turnover ratio by going 20-12 in that category. On the flip side, the Orediggers forced 19 turnovers by Fort Lewis (1-3, 1-3 RMAC) while the Skyhawks only dished out 10 assists as a team. Mines further helped its overall cause by shooting over 46 percent from the field including 43.5 percent from behind the three-point arc. Fort Lewis managed to outrebound the Orediggers by a margin of 38-30. The Skyhawks also benefitted from Jordan Vasquez's 25 points. However, a free-throw clip of 66.7 percent hindered FLC's chances at success.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Early clouds on Saturday morning gave way to bright, blue skies and balmy temperatures in Golden. That weather held into the early evening, and as the sun set behind the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Mines and Fort Lewis went to battle inside Lockridge Arena in the final game of 2020 for both teams. The Orediggers were looking to rebound from a loss to Western Colorado on Friday and Fort Lewis was just hoping for a win after its contest against Regis was postponed.
 
The Skyhawks parlayed their pent up energy into an early lead which they held until Holter hit a three-pointer to give the home team a 5-4 advantage with six minutes to play in the opening quarter. Holter's long-range shot sparked a back-and-forth battle that carried all the way into halftime. Despite a 15-11 advantage after 10 minutes, Mines entered the break clinging to a 35-32 lead. Pinto garnered most of the credit for the three-point cushion thanks to 11 points in the first half including two, first-quarter three-pointers that put her at exactly 1,000 career points. Holter also helped the cause by scoring eight in 19 minutes.
 
Mines came out of the locker room and took complete control of the game in the second half. After a trading of baskets in the first 60 seconds, Pinto started and ended a 7-0 run for the Orediggers by hitting a pair of free throws and draining a three-point basket. That outburst afforded the home team a 44-37 advantage, and the visitors from Durango never fully recovered. Megan Van de Graaf's layup at the end of the third quarter made the score 56-42. Then, Pinto gave Mines its largest lead of the game, 58-42, by way of an early jumper in the fourth quarter. Fort Lewis' last-second heave by Bailer Osmer at the end of the game proved academic as the final buzzer sounded.
 
COACH'S COMMENT
"I'm so happy for our girls and how they responded from last night into today," said Head Coach Brittany Simpson. "We played much better on the offensive end, which has definitely been a focus. It's nice to go into Christmas Break with a win. I am also very proud of and happy for Denali. What a great accomplishment to reach 1,000 points for her career."
 
NOTABLES
- Mines' win over Fort Lewis on Friday marked its first victory over FLC since Jan. 19, 2019 and the first at home since Feb. 16, 2018.
- Pinto is the fourth player to reach 1,000 career points with Coach Simpson at the helm. The last was Emily Bailey in 2018 with 1,070.
- Additionally, Pinto's 22 points are the most for any Oredigger in a game this season.
- Mines' 46.8-percent shooting percentage was its highest efficiency rate so far in 2020-21.
- Sophomore guard Loralee Stock scored three points thanks to the first three-point basket of her collegiate career.
- Fort Lewis entered the weekend as the #2 scoring offense in the RMAC, averaging over 70 points a game before Mines held the Skyhawks to 63.
- More on Pinto. Her five assists match her career high. She has now dished out five assists in one game on three different occasions.
- Holter also matched a career high thanks to her four steals against FLC.
- Furthermore, after a productive weekend, Holter has surpassed 200 rebounds for her collegiate career thanks to 81 at her previous stop at Incarnate Word.
- Through five games, Stanton leads the Orediggers in scoring at a clip of 14.2 points per game.
- Coach Simpson is 136-99 in her ninth season as head coach.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines now takes a two week break for the holidays before returning to action on Jan. 3-4 at Chadron State and Black Hills State. Live stats and video will be offered for free at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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.