#15 Mines (7-1, 2-0 RMAC) at UCCS (3-5, 1-1 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. – Colorado Springs, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

 
PUT IT ON THE LINE
This Saturday, the #15-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team will take its modest, four-game win streak on the road to Colorado Springs. The Orediggers will face the Mountain Lions of UCCS in their only action of the weekend. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m. all inside the Gallogly Events Center.
 
MASKS REQUIRED FOR FANS AT UCCS
Like home games at Lockridge Arena, fans are reminded that masks are required for indoor events at UCCS regardless of vaccination status. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The RMAC Network has relaunched for 2021-22, and fans used to watching on their smart TV or other device must download the new app by searching "RMAC" in your device's app store. The new watch portal is available online at www.minesathletics.com/tv or www.rmacnetwork.com. All Mines home games and all RMAC contests will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network this winter.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play last week with a pair of wins inside Lockridge Arena. The Orediggers handled Regis by a score of 78-70. Sammy Van Sickle closed out the victory for the home team by sinking six straight free throws in the final 54 seconds. Denali Pinto led all players with 20 points. Thursday saw Colorado School of Mines dispatch South Dakota Mines on an 80-51 margin. Van Sickle was big again as she flirted with a triple double thanks to 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds along with three blocks and three steals. Courtney Stanton put up an impressive line as well with 15 points and eight rebounds.
 
SCOUTING UCCS
The Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs carry an overall record of 3-5 with a conference mark of 1-1 into Saturday's contest with Mines. UCCS split its conference openers with a 54-49 loss at then #24 CSU Pueblo before toppling Adams Sate, 71-60 in Alamosa. The Mountain Lions started their season 0-4 with losses to Midwestern State, Cameron, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Regis before getting in the win column against NAIA Friends and University of the Southwest. Most recently, UCCS played an exhibition at nearby Air Force which resulted in a 70-49 loss. Individually, Jasmine Jeffcoat and Maison White are the only Mountain Lions in double digit scoring with 11.9 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. That duo also leads UCCS on the glass with White touting 8.0 rebounds per game while Jeffcoat adds 6.3 boards per contest. Also notable are White's 2.0 blocks per game. Jeffcoat's 62.5-percent field-goal percentage ranks #10 nationally. As a team, UCCS ranks #21 in the nation in free throw attempts per game, #18 in rebound margin and #20 in rebounds per game.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between Mines and UCCS is tight with the Mountain Lions owning a narrow, 22-21 advantage. That being said, the Orediggers are 6-4 in their last 10 meetings with Saturday's foe. Recent history has been a story of home court advantage with the host winning each of the last five contests. Mines' latest showdown with UCCS was an 80-47 victory on Jan. 18, 2021 in Golden. The Orediggers haven't won in Colorado Springs since an 81-68 decision on Feb. 23, 2018.
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – AGAIN
Sammy Van Sickle won her second consecutive RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award on Tuesday after powering the Orediggers to a 2-0 start to conference play. She did it all for the Orediggers in home wins of 78-70 and 80-51 against Regis and South Dakota Mines. Her averages for the week included 14.0 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game with just one turnover in over 55 minutes on the court. Van Sickle's biggest performance of the week came against South Dakota Mines where she nearly posted a triple-double thanks to 18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals. It bolstered her 10-point, three-rebound, two-steal, one-block outing against Regis from earlier in the week. Through eight games, the Arvada, Colo., native ranks #2 in the RMAC in total rebounds, total assists and assists per game. She also ranks #3 in total steals and steals per game with a spot at #5 in total blocks. Van Sickle now boasts six RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in her career.
 
BEST START EVER
Thanks to last week's two wins, Mines' women are off to their best start to a season in program history. The Orediggers' 7-1 start tops the previous best mark of 6-1 in the 2001-02 season – 20 years ago. That 6-1 beginning two decades past resulted in 6-3 and finally 16-11 overall while going 10-9 in the RMAC. Mines also went 6-3 in 2014-15 before finishing under .500. The 2015-16 campaign featured an 0-2 start before the Orediggers ran off a program-best 13 straight wins to make it 13-2 on the way to their first RMAC title.
 
TOPS IN THE NATION
Mines' defense continues to be one of the best in the nation through eight games of the 2021-22 season. Specifically, the Orediggers rank #1 in NCAA Division II in steals per game at 16.5 while sitting #2 in the nation in total steals with 132. That production has resulted in a defense that ranks #2 in the RMAC and #18 in the nation. Additionally, Mines ranks #9 in the country in assists per game, #11 in turnover margin, #12 in offensive rebounds per game, #13 in assist-to-turnover ratio, #14 in scoring margin, #15 in total assists, #17 in rebound margin and #18 in rebounds per game. Individually, Ashley Steffeck ranks #3 in total steals and #7 in steals per game. Sammy Van Sickle boasts the #24-ranked assist-to-turnover ratio. Also of note is the fact that Mines is also #2 in the RMAC in scoring.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The Orediggers continue to move up in both national rankings. This week's polls feature Mines at #16 on the coaches' list (WBCA) and #15 in the media poll sponsored by the Division 2 Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA). It marks a rise from #19 in both rankings last week. The Orediggers are the only RMAC squad appearing in the top-25 of the media poll after Colorado Mesa dropped from #13 to completely off the list. CSU Pueblo improved its WBCA standing from #24 to #22.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
The collegiate playing career of Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson has been thoroughly discussed in these previews over the last four years. However, did you know that her collegiate coaching career began at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs? That's right, after closing her playing career out west in 2006, Simpson (then Rowley), came across the mountains and served as a graduate assistant coach at UCCS during the 2006-07 season under then head coach Jessika Stratton. It was Stratton's second season at the helm which saw the Mountain Lions go 10-20 overall while posting a RMAC mark of 8-11. It was also Simpson's only year on the UCCS staff as she came to Golden as an assistant coach in 2008. The rest, as they say, is history – literally – it's history.
 
UP NEXT
Mines' last action before the holiday break will be games at Western Colorado and Fort Lewis on Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network 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.