WBCA Top-25 | D2SIDA Media Poll

GOLDEN Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team entered the national rankings on Tuesday morning in historic fashion, sitting #17 in the media poll and #25 on the coaches' list.
 
Mines' spot at #17 in the Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll sponsored by D2SIDA marks the program's highest ranking ever. Additionally, the Orediggers' #25 ranking is their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll from the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA). The last time Mines appeared in the national rankings was the 2015-16 season when they climbed as high as #21 in week nine of the D2SIDA rankings. 

This season's rise follows a 2-0 weekend on the road where Mines defeated Fort Lewis 81-64 on Friday before upsetting then #7-ranked Western Colorado on Saturday in Gunnison. The Orediggers used 23 points from Denali Pinto including the game-winning three-pointer to score the victory. Raven Herrera chipped in 15 points as well. Sammy Van Sickle also had 10 rebounds, seven points and five blocks. With the wins, Mines takes over first place in the RMAC standings and Pinto was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts. The Orediggers and Mountaineers are the only conference teams ranked in the national top-25. Western Colorado remained ahead of Mines at #21 in the coaches' poll, but dropped from #7 to #21 on the media list.
 
Normally, Oredigger fans would be on the lookout for other nationally-ranked teams from the South Central Region. However, for the 2020-21 season only, Mines has moved to the West Region which includes teams from the PacWest and the GNAC. Teams from those conferences in this week's top-25 include Hawaii Pacific at #3 in the media poll and #7 in the coaches' poll with Point Loma Nazarene sitting #21 in the media poll.
 
The Orediggers return to action this Friday and Saturday by hosting Westminster and Colorado Mesa at Lockridge Arena. No spectators are allowed, but live stats and video are 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.