Mines (11-2, 10-2 RMAC) at Fort Lewis (4-7, 4-7 RMAC) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. – Durango, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (11-2, 10-2 RMAC) at #7 Western Colorado (10-1, 9-1 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. – Gunnison, Colo. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

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SECOND TIME AROUND
This weekend, the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team hits the road for rematches against Fort Lewis and #7-ranked Western Colorado. The Orediggers tip off against FLC on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Durango, Colo. Then, Mines takes on league-leader WCU on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Gunnison. While, the Orediggers hold the best record of teams that have actually qualified for the RMAC Tournament, Western Colorado just needs one more game to claim its eligibility. Mines can't afford to look past the Skyhawks on Friday, but Saturday may be the biggest RMAC showdown of the year.
 
NO SPECTATORS STILL STANDS
Just like in past weeks, no fans will be allowed at either game this weekend. Additionally, the Orediggers announced last month the extension of the policy of spectators not being allowed at home games until further notice. 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.
 
CHANGES CONTINUE
"Be prepared for anything" has proven appropriate with nine changes to the women's schedule so far. Contests against Regis, Adams State and MSU Denver are still outstanding. However, time is running out to find makeup dates for those three games. The men's side features a slew of their own changes. Mines' men do need two more games to become eligible for the RMAC and NCAA postseason. Changes will continue and will be announced at www.minesathletics.com and on Twitter at @MinesWBB and @MinesAthletics.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines played one game last weekend and it was a 69-40 win against Colorado Christian at Lockridge Arena. In the Orediggers' best defensive performance of the year, Ashley Steffeck and Sammy Van Sickle did their thing by combining for 22 rebounds, 13 points, six assists, five steals and two blocks. The duo committed just one total turnover. On offense, Denali Pinto led all players with 15 points in 24 minutes on the court. Mines shot over 44 percent as a team including 41 percent from three-point range. The Orediggers biggest advantage was holding CCU to 12 points in the first half. It marked Mines' sixth straight win and eighth double-digit victory of the season. The Orediggers have held six opponents to 50 points or less.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak including losses to Colorado Mesa, Westminster and UCCS. Two of the three losses came at home. The Skyhawks have not beaten a team with a winning record yet this year. Half of FLC's wins have come against Colorado Christian. As a team, Fort Lewis averages just over 64 points per game while giving up 68 to the opposition. Jordan Vasquez remains the Skyhawks' cornerstone as she leads her squad in scoring and rebounding at 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Her offense ranks #4 in the RMAC. Nobody else on the team averages more than nine points per game. Also notable is Chloe Warrington's 48.8 three-point percentage over eight appearances which ranks 18th in the nation. That is all.
 
OTHER SKYHAWK DEFINTIONS
Earlier this season we learned that a Skyhawk – Fort Lewis' nickname – is many things, but it is not an actual, living bird. Airplane and automobile? Yes, but not a living creature. However, fans might be interested to know that Skyhawk was also one of the former mascots for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. This mascot wore basketball shorts, a nylon body suit and a mask which all sounds like a professional wrestler or a highly COVID-19 prepared mascot. Additionally, a hesitant venture onto UrbanDictionary.com found that a Skyhawk is also someone who does not allow fun. A stick in the mud, if you will. All of that to say, a Skyhawk still isn't a real bird just like a ThunderWolf isn't a real wolf.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
At 10-1 overall and 9-1 in the RMAC, Western Colorado's winning percentage is less than .07 better than Mines on both fronts. The Mountaineers improved that mark on Tuesday with a 53-51 nail biter at home against Colorado Mesa. That victory gave WCU its fifth straight win, and it goes on the line Friday against Regis. Western's only loss of the year came against South Dakota Mines in conference play. The Mountaineers lead the RMAC in scoring thanks to 71.6 points per game and rank third in the league on defense with 59.6 points per game allowed. Four different individuals average double-digit scoring for WCU. The quartet is led by Hannah Cooper's 16.5 points per game. Samantha Coleman and Emma Wagstaff boast 25 and 27 three-pointers, respectively, to fuel scoring averages of 13.4 and 12.4. On the glass, Katie Dalton averages 6.2 rebounds per game. At the end of the day, Saturday brings together the league's #1 offense and the #1 defense in a showdown of the top two teams in the standings.  
 
FAMOUS MOUNTAINEERS
In the first meeting between these two teams, fans learned the dictionary definition of a mountaineer – Western Colorado's nickname – and found it to be a reasonable name for WCU's athletic teams. This time, we're going to learn about some famous mountaineers. Arguably most famous are George Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary. Neither of these individuals attended Western Colorado, but both are famous for their exploits on Mt. Everest which is generally known as the highest mountain in the world. Mallory was never confirmed to have reached the 29,032-foot peak as he died on the mountain the midst of his last attempt. Hillary is touted as the first confirmed person to summit the legendary mount. His summit came on May 29, 1953 with the critical assistance of his Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay. There's really no reason for all of this, but maybe you know more about mountaineering now than you ever did before. So, you're welcome.
 
SERIES HISTORY – FORT LEWIS
Friday will be the second meeting between Mines and Fort Lewis this season and the 58th edition in the all-time series. The Orediggers won the first round by a 75-63 margin thanks to 22 points from Denali Pinto. Liz Holter and Courtney Stanton added 13 points and 12 points as well. Holter also came up with four steals. The victory evened the record at 5-5 over the last 10 matchups. Mines trails the all-time series 20-37. The Orediggers haven't lost in Durango, Colo., since Feb. 17, 2017. Overall, the series has gone back-and-forth since 2012. Prior to that, Fort Lewis had won nine straight. True Oredigger fans will remember that 2012 was the year Brittany Simpson took over as head coach at Mines. And now you know.
 
SERIES HISTORY – WESTERN COLORADO
Mines suffered its first loss of the 2020-21 season to Western Colorado on Dec. 18 at Lockridge Arena. The 57-51 decision featured 20 points from the Orediggers' Courtney Stanton and 20 points from WCU's Hannah Cooper. Also notable were 12 rebounds from Sammy Van Sickle. Each team only managed four three-point baskets in the game and Mines produced just two steals. Saturday will be the 64th time the Orediggers and Mountaineers meet in women's basketball and WCU enters riding a three-game win streak against Mines. The last time the Orediggers defeated Western was Jan. 13, 2018 in Gunnison, Colo. The only current player who appeared in that game was Stanton who scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds as a true freshman. Prior to that, Mines had won five straight against WCU. The Orediggers haven't lost four straight to the Mountaineers since a stretch from 1988-1991.
 
COLORADO SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Denali Pinto was named the Colorado Sportswoman of the Year for college basketball on Wednesday in honor of her stellar sophomore campaign in 2019-20. Her 2019-20 accolades include D2CCA First-Team All-Region, CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America, RMAC Player of the Year, RMAC Academic Player of the Year, First-Team All-RMAC, the RMAC Summit Award and CoSIDA Academic All-District among many others. Pinto is the third-ever Oredigger to claim the sport-specific Colorado Sportswoman of the Year award. Past winners include Emily Garnier of women's soccer in 2017 and 2018 along with women's soccer's Megan Woodworth in 2012. Pinto moves onto the top ballot for an opportunity to win Colorado Sportswoman of the Year for 2021 across all sports. Her competition includes student-athletes at institutions such as Florida State, Colorado State and Air Force. Honorees from 2020 and 2021 will be honored at the 47th annual Sportswomen of Colorado Awards Celebration. The ceremony will be virtual with a date yet to be announced.
 
OREDIGGER GEMS
For this Oredigger Gem, we're going back a couple of decades. We know the last editions have stayed in the recent past, but we want to honor the entire history of Mines women's basketball. In the 1989-90 season, Laura Marshall exploded for 35 points against then Western State. While no box score is currently available we know that Marshall's performance still ranks #2 all-time on Mines' single-game scoring list. The only Oredigger to ever score more points in a single game was Taylor Helbig dropping 38 against McMurry in 2014-15. With all respect to Marshall and Helbig, we think it's time to add another name near the top of the list. You take your pick on who you want it to be.
 
GROUND RULES
In late November, 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, in everyone 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.
 
UP NEXT
Mines returns home Feb. 19-20 to host Westminster and Colorado Mesa at Lockridge Arena. No spectators will be allowed. However, live stats and video will be available 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.