#13 Mines (10-1, 5-0 RMAC) vs. Chadron State (5-6, 4-2 RMAC) – Friday, 2 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
#13 Mines (10-1, 5-0 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State (6-6, 4-2 RMAC) – Saturday, 2 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW
This Friday and Saturday, the #13-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team will celebrate New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with games against Chadron State and Black Hills State inside Lockridge Arena. It'll be Mines' first home contests since hosting South Dakota Mines on Dec. 2. It also marks the first time Mines has played on New Year's Eve and New Year's day since the 2016 calendar year. The Orediggers enter the weekend riding a seven-game win streak while sitting first in the RMAC standings as the only team with an unbeaten record in conference play.
 
MASKS REQUIRED FOR FANS AT LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Masks continue to be mandatory for all spectators attending Colorado School of Mines home basketball games until further notice.
 
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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Mines closed the fall semester on Dec. 17 and 18 at Western Colorado in Gunnison and at Fort Lewis in Durango. The Orediggers won both games by margins of 74-64 and 87-53, respectively. Sammy Van Sickle was huge in the 10-point win at WCU thanks to an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double which also included two steals, two assists and one block. Megan Van de Graaf was the star in the blowout at Fort Lewis as she scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The wins extended the Oredigger win streak to seven and kept them undefeated in the RMAC while previously undefeated Westminster and CSU Pueblo both fell on the same weekend.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
After going winless in the 2020-21 season, Chadron State's women dropped their first three games of 2021-22 while losing four of their first five contests. Since starting RMAC action, the Eagles have won four of six with their only two losses coming on the road at Westminster and Colorado Mesa. That puts CSC just two wins away from its most conference victories in half a decade after toppling Fort Lewis, Western Colorado, UCCS and New Mexico Highlands – all at home. Individually, Ashayla Powers and Samiyah Worrell have worked to fill the shoes of departed Eagles' star Taryn Foxen. That duo has combined to average nearly 26 points per game through 11 contests. Powers also leads on the glass thanks to 6.1 rebounds per game. Jori Peters is tops in assists, averaging 3.1 per game.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Black Hills State was named the RMAC Tournament Champion last season through COVID-19 protocols. After cutting the nets inside Lockridge Arena and bowing out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round, the Yellow Jackets have proceeded to start their new campaign with a record of 6-6 while going 4-2 in conference play. Four of BHSU's six wins have come in RMAC play against Western Colorado, Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands and UCCS – all in Spearfish, S.D. Mixed into the six losses is a 68-55 defeat at the hands of Hawaii Pacific which also qualified for the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament. Megan Engesser leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 9.8 points per game. Danica Kocer is right behind with 9.2 points per game. Ashlee Beacom leads BHSU on the glass with 4.5 rebounds per game while also scoring 7.9 points per contest. As a team, Black Hills State ranks #4 in the nation in three-pointers made and #6 in three-pointers attempted.
 
MINES AGAINST CHADRON STATE
The Orediggers trail in the all-time series against Chadron State by a margin of 31-34. However, Mines has won four straight against the Eagles and nine of the last 10 meetings. The two teams last met on Jan. 3, 2021 and Mines won the contest in Chadron, 77-61. The Orediggers haven't lost to CSC since Jan. 26, 2019 in a 76-73 heartbreaker in Nebraska. Additionally, Mines boasts a seven-game, home streak against CSC which dates back to the 2012-13 season. Chadron State hasn't won in Golden since Jan. 27, 2012.
 
MINES AGAINST BLACK HILLS STATE
In the rivalry against Black Hills State, Mines narrowly trails, 7-8. The Yellow Jackets won the last meeting in a 73-71, overtime thriller in Spearfish, S.D. Over the last six meetings, the two teams are deadlocked with three wins apiece. The all-time series between Mines and BHSU began on Dec. 8, 2012 when the Orediggers earned a 67-59 victory in Golden. Overall, Mines is 5-3 at home and 2-5 on the road in the rivalry.
 
RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – X3
Right before the holiday break, Sammy Van Sickle earned her third RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award this season. It marked the seventh such award of her career after she guided Mines to wins of 74-64 and 87-53 at Western Colorado and Fort Lewis, respectively. Her resume for the week included averages of 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. The Arvada, Colo., native's highlight of the week was an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double at Western Colorado on Friday evening where she also nabbed two steals and blocked one shot. She now ranks #3 in the RMAC in total steals and total blocks while sitting #22 in the nation in total steals. Additionally, 12 of Van Sickle's 17 rebounds during the week came on the defensive glass. Van Sickle has won three of the last four defensive awards from the RMAC.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
The most recent national rankings were released on Dec. 21, at the start of the holiday break. Mines climbed in both polls as it moved from #17 up to #16 in the coaches' poll while climbing to #13 in the media poll sponsored by D2SIDA. Other notable movement included CSU Pueblo dropping out of the media poll while Colorado Mesa returned to the top-25 at #23. No other RMAC program is present on the WBCA's national list.
 
1,359 AND CLIMBING
After scoring 22 points on the road trip to Gunnison and Durango, Denali Pinto took over #4 on Mines' all-time scoring list with 1,359 points. She surpassed Kelly Hadley who scored 1,349 from 1983-87 and sits 44 points shy of tying Emily Dalton's 1,403 points at #3. Dalton played for the Orediggers from 2006-10. Pinto has accumulated her 1,359 points in 86 games and 83 starts which comes out to a career average of 15.8 points per game. Mines' current record for career scoring average is 15.5 points per game set by Mary Meagher from 1979-83.
 
BEST START CONTINUES
Mines' women continue to improve on its best start to a season in program history. The Orediggers' previous best start to a season was 20 years ago when they started the 2001-02 season with a record of 6-1. That start eventually fell to 6-3 and finally 16-11 at the conclusion of the season. Mines also started 6-3 in 2014-15. 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. Mines' 2021-22 success has come behind a defense that's ranked #2 in the nation in total steals, #3 in steals per game, #10 in turnover margin and rebound margin, and #13 in overall scoring defense. Additionally, the Orediggers are #5 in offensive rebounds per game, #11 in assists per game, #12 in scoring margin and #11 in overall winning percentage.
 
SIMPSON'S NEW YEAR STATS
Saturday marks the 10th time that Mines women's basketball will open a new calendar year with Head Coach Brittany Simpson at the helm. During Simpson's tenure, the Orediggers are 6-3 in new-year openers. The last time Simpson led Mines into a new calendar year was Jan. 3, 2021 when the Orediggers defeated Chadron State by a score of 77-61 in Nebraska. Simpson's biggest win in the first game of a new year was a 77-58 victory over Westminster on Jan. 7, 2017. Another interesting, yet useless, tidbit is that eight of Simpson's nine new-year openers have come against teams with "west" in their name including Western Colorado three times, one at Western New Mexico and four against Westminster.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
As mentioned in the first section, this weekend marks the first time that Mines has played on New Year's Eve and New Year's day in the same calendar year since 2016. However, Friday and Saturday mark the first time in the Orediggers' 46 seasons that they have played on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 in the same season. Mines' last New Year's Eve contest was Dec. 31, 2016 when they lost, 75-64, to South Dakota Mines. Their last New Year's Day game was a 58-57 win at Western New Mexico on Jan. 1, 2016. In fact, that marks the only time the Orediggers have ever played a game on Jan. 1 – until Saturday. Overall, Mines is 1-2 on Dec. 31 with a 77-36 win at Western New Mexico in 2011 and a 70-56 loss against St. Cloud State in 2002 in Golden. The Orediggers' 2016 win over WNMU makes them 1-0 all-time on Jan. 1.
 
UP NEXT
Mines' next action will be a single home game on Saturday, Jan. 8, against New Mexico Highlands inside Lockridge Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 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.