#15 Mines (8-1, 3-0 RMAC) at Western Colorado (4-5, 2-2 RMAC) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. – Gunnison, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#15 Mines (8-1, 3-0 RMAC) at Fort Lewis (2-8, 1-3 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. – Durango, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HOLIDAY BREAK BASKETBALL
For Colorado School of Mines, the fall semester ends and holiday break begins this weekend. The #15-ranked Orediger women's basketball team will celebrate with a pair of games on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains. Friday features a showdown at Western Colorado in Gunnison with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. Saturday brings a 5 p.m. matchup against Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. On the line for Mines is a five-game win streak and an unblemished 3-0 record in RMAC play as the Orediggers look to roll into the holiday hiatus on a high note.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All of Mines' RMAC contests will stream live and for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. The new watch portal is available online at www.minesathletics.com/tv or www.rmacnetwork.com. Fans can also download the RMAC Network app on their smart TV or device by searching "RMAC" in their respective app stores.
 
REMEMBERING UCCS
Mines' lone action last week was a one-off conference matchup at UCCS on Saturday. The Orediggers grinded out a 54-41 win over the Mountain Lions. It marked their first win in Colorado Springs since February of 2018. Courtney Stanton came up big in her hometown of Colorado Springs by producing 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks and one assist. Ashley Steffeck added 10 points, and Sammy Van Sickle pulled down seven rebounds with three blocks and two steals. The victory tied Mines with UCCS in the all-time series at 22 wins apiece.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
While sitting at 4-5 overall, the Mountaineers of Western Colorado enter the weekend riding a two-game win streak thanks to a pair of conference victories against Fort Lewis and MSU Denver. Prior to WCU's first two conference wins, the Mountaineers had lost four straight road contests to Southwestern Oklahoma State, West Texas A&M, Black Hills State and Chadron State. The other two wins came over Angelo State and Fort Lewis in non-RMAC action. Individually, Samantha Coleman is the player to watch as her team's leading scorer with 10.2 points per game. She also ranks second in rebounding thanks to 4.4 rebounds per game. Also notable are Katie Dalton's 12 blocks in nine games.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
A historically dangerous Fort Lewis team welcomes Mines to Durango following a slow start to the season under a head coach in his first year. The Skyhawks sit 2-8 overall with a 1-3 mark in RMAC play. Their two wins came against Northern New Mexico College and Colorado Christian. Seven of FLC's eight losses have featured double-digit deficits. Sydney Candelaria serves as the Skyhawks' hot hand, boasting 17.5 points per game along with 24 assists and 15 steals in 10 contests. Alyssa Adams and Kelsey Sorenson also average more than 10.0 points per game. Sorenson leads the team thanks to 7.4 rebounds per game as well.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines is 26-38 in the all-time series with Western Colorado while sitting 21-37 in the rivalry with Fort Lewis. That being said, the Orediggers are 6-4 over their last 10 matchups against the Mountaineers with the same mark during the same span against the Skyhawks. Mines last faced WCU on Feb. 13, 2021 in Gunnison. The result was a 63-59 victory for the Orediggers which clinched a share of the RMAC title thanks to a late three-pointer from Denali Pinto. The latest installment of Mines vs. Fort Lewis was Feb. 12, 2021 as the Orediggers ran away with an 81-64 win in Durango. It marked Mines' second straight win over FLC.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Tuesday brought the latest national rankings from the media and the coaches. Mines held strong at #15 in the media poll sponsored by the D2SIDA. In the coaches' (WBCA) poll, the Orediggers' dropped from #16 to #17 despite extending their win streak to five. CSU Pueblo was the only other RMAC team to appear in either poll as the ThunderWolves checked in at #24 on the media's list and #23 in the coaches' rankings.
 
BEST START EVER
Last Saturday's win at UCCS extended Mines' best start to a season in program history as the Orediggers' improved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in RMAC play. The previous best start to a season was 20 years ago when Mines started the 2001-02 season 6-1. That start two decades ago fell to 6-3 and eventually 16-11 overall while going 10-9 in the league. The Orediggers also started 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.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
While most teams historically play better on their home court, Mines' women have showed impressive balance over the last three seasons. Since the 2019-20 campaign, the Orediggers own a home record of 19-7 while touting a road mark of 21-6. In fact, Mines was better on the road than at home in 2019-20 and in 2020-21 with road records of 10-4 and 9-1, respectively.
 
UP NEXT
After this weekend's games, the Orediggers will take nearly two weeks off from competition for the holiday break. They return to action on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 against Chadron State and Black Hills State inside Lockridge Arena. Both games tip off at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.minesthletics.com/tickets or at the door. 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.