GOLDEN, Colo. – The #14-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team used a strong fourth quarter on Tuesday night to earn a 67-56 victory over Regis in the first round of the 2021 RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
Denali Pinto was the start of the show with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double. Both of those numbers led all players in the game while she added two steals, two assists and one block as well. Courtney Stanton also had a double-double thanks to 10 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Steffeck's 11 points and Megan Van de Graaf's 10 points made a quartet of Orediggers scoring in double digits. Steffeck bolstered her stat line with six rebounds, five steals, two blocks and two assists. Sammy Van Sickle played the utility knife by notching eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks.
 
Mines (16-3) earned its third straight win by producing 14 steals as a team on the way to forcing 21 turnovers by Regis (8-10). The Orediggers committed just eight turnovers of their own to offset nearly 40-percent shooting from the Rangers. Mines overcame a sub-30-percent shooting percentage with a 53-36 advantage on the glass while pouring in 28 points in the paint and 26 off of turnovers. Regis saw its season come to a close while Mines advanced to the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament for a third straight year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Nobody can say for sure whether it was the warm weather, the excitement of the postseason or the uncommon weeknight night game that fueled the battle inside Lockridge Arena on Tuesday night. No matter the motivation, both teams came to play. Through the first three quarters, Regis shot nearly lights out and Mines played discipline basketball that resulted in just six turnovers through the first three quarters. However, cold shooting for the Orediggers combined with five three-point baskets for RU had the visitors within four points heading into the fourth quarter. That was where Mines made its move.
 
Within the first two minutes of the final period, Regis retook the lead yet again at 45-44 with 8:06 left to play. Then Mines reclaimed the lead on a layup from Stanton before the Rangers responded with a layup of their own. A three-pointer from the visitors extended the RU lead to 50-46, and only 6:51 remained on the clock. At that point, the Orediggers bowed their collective necks. Stanton bullied her way into the paint for a contested layup to make the score 50-48 at 6:36. Raven Herrera tied the game on a turnaround jump shot with 4:50 left to play. Those two baskets sparked an 11-0 run for the home team including three-point baskets from Van Sickle and Steffeck.
 
Regis called a timeout at 2:51 after Steffeck drained her long-range bucket from the corner while falling down. However, the pause proved too late for the eighth-seeded Rangers. Mines put on its #1-seed hat and made it a 17-3 run over a span of six minutes. The visitors did their best to curb the Orediggers' with a Whitney Jacob three-pointer, but four straight free throws from the duo of Pinto and Van Sickle would clinch the first-round victory.
 
COACH'S COMMENT
"I'm very proud of our team and how they responded today," said Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson. "Regis put together a good game and I'm glad our girls were able to pull it out."
 
NOTABLES
- Mines boasts five straight wins over Regis.
- Tuesday's win avenged the Orediggers' last postseason matchup with Regis which was a 68-40 Ranger win on Feb. 28, 27, 2018 at Lockridge Arena.
- Pinto's double-double was her first in over two years. Her last was a 15-point, 11-rebound performance against New Mexico Highlands on Feb. 15, 2019.
- Additionally, Pinto scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half. Stanton was similar, scoring eight of her 10 points in the second half.
- Stanton's double-double was the third of her career. Her last double-double featured 23 points and 11 rebounds against Colorado Mesa on Dec. 7, 2019.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson went six straight years without a win in the RMAC Tournament. Tuesday's victory makes Simpson 3-0 in the first round over the last three years.
- Mines will host the RMAC Tournament Semifinals for the first time in program history on Friday.
- Herrera surpassed 100 steals for her career on Tuesday evening.
- The Orediggers now tout three straight trips to the RMAC Tournament Semifinals.
- Mines' last trip to the championship game came in 2009 as the #3 seed.
- Coach Simpson is 148-101 in her ninth season as head coach.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts fourth-seeded Colorado Mesa at 5:30 p.m. on Friday inside Lockridge Arena. The second semifinal will feature third-seeded Western Colorado and seventh-seeded Black Hills State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday's Championship game will tip off at 7 p.m. No fans will be allowed as per the RMAC decree earlier this year. Live stats and live 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.