GUNNISON, Colo. – Oredigger junior Denali Pinto guided the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team to a 63-59 upset of #7-ranked Western Colorado on Saturday night as she scored 23 points at Paul Wright Gym.
 
Pinto's 23 points led all players in the game. She grabbed three steals and six rebounds as well. The guard's production included the go-ahead three-pointer with less than one minute to play and four of Mines' last five points. She also converted a four-point play in the first half. Raven Herrera came up big as well. She scored 15 points while pulling down seven rebounds and racking up three steals. Rounding it out for the Orediggers was Sammy Van Sickle who stuffed every column of the box score. Van Sickle notched 10 rebounds, blocked five shots, scored seven points and snagged two steals.
 
With the win, Mines (13-2, 12-2 RMAC) takes over first place in the RMAC standings. The Orediggers earned the victory by racking up 13 steals while forcing 20 turnovers from Western Colorado (11-2, 10-2 RMAC). Mines turned those turnovers into 22 points while the Mountaineers only managed five points off of 13 Oredigger turnovers. The visitors also held a 40-35 rebounding advantage and a 28-16 lead on points in the paint. The biggest advantage for WCU was 8-for-16 shooting from three-point range. The victory also snaps Western Colorado's six-game winning streak and extends Mines' run to eight straight.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Saturday's contest was named one of three "must-watch" games this weekend in NCAA Division II Women's basketball, and the contest lived up to the hype. Excitement and anxiety oozed from every pore, even from the opening tip. Mines controlled that jump ball and Courtney Stanton quickly provided Mines a 2-0 lead with a spinning hook shot in the lane. The Orediggers grabbed that momentum and won the opening period, 22-16. Pinto scored eight of those 22 points and her four-point play early on sparked a 6-0 run.
 
However, the home team was not going anywhere. The nationally-ranked Mountaineers took over the second quarter and outscored their guests, 19-12. By halftime, WCU owned a 35-34 lead despite six second-quarter points off the hand of Herrera. Pinto also scored four of her own while Van Sickle blocked three shots in the second frame. Unfortunately for Mines, the Mountaineers went 3-for-3 from long range in that same period.
 
After halftime, the grind only grew more intense. Western Colorado drained back-to-back three-pointers and earned its largest lead of the game early in the third quarter. The Mountaineers seven-point advantage forced a 30-second timeout by the Orediggers. That pause led to a long-range basket from Pinto and a pair of free throws from Ashley Steffeck. As the back-and-forth continued, neither team led by more than four points. Mines finished the quarter outscoring WCU, 19-15, thanks to a late, breakaway layup from Herrera. With 10 minutes remaining, the Orediggers boasted a 53-50 lead.
 
The visitor's lead lasted nearly five minutes into the fourth quarter before WCU tied the game at 56-56 on a layup from Mikaela Parker. A free throw from the same Mountaineer afforded Western Colorado a 57-56 lead with 5:06 to play. Neither team scored a field goal for 2:26 of game action, but two free throws for the home team made the score 59-56. Stanton hit a jumper at the 2:40 mark to pull Mines back within a point. Then, with 44 seconds on the clock, Pinto took a pass from Holter and drained a three-point basket from the left side and gave the Orediggers a 61-59 lead. Western Colorado never scored again while Pinto and Steffeck each provided a free throw to ice the victory.
 
COACH'S COMMENT
"Tonight was a great win on the road," said Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson. "Our girls had to grind out the victory. I'm very proud of how they stuck with it."
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 26-38 in the all-time series against Western Colorado and snapped a three-game losing streak versus the Mountaineers with Saturday's win.
- The Orediggers and Mountaineers are 1-1 on the year after WCU defeated Mines, 57-51, in Golden earlier this season.
- Saturday's 63-59 decision marks the smallest margin between Mines and Western Colorado since the Orediggers won 65-61 on Dec. 13, 2008 in Gunnison.
- Mines' last win over a nationally-ranked opponent came last season when the Orediggers took down #12 Westminster on Jan. 3 by a score of 80-70 in Salt Lake City.
- Herrera's 15 points mark a season high for the redshirt junior. She went 7-of-14 from the floor against WCU.
- Van Sickle's five blocked shots are the most by an Oredigger in a single game since Emily Bailey blocked five against UCCS on Feb. 24, 2017.
- Steffeck now has exactly 300 career points in less than two seasons at Mines.
- Megan Van de Graaf also surpassed 300 career points in Saturday night's win.
- No Tweets were sent from @MinesWBB to the college apparel company known as Homefield Apparel during Saturday's contest.
- Coach Simpson is 145-100 in her ninth season as head coach.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines returns home to face Westminster and Colorado Mesa Feb. 19-20 at Lockridge Arena. No spectators are expected, but 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.