[1] #14 Mines (16-3) vs. [4] Colorado Mesa (14-7) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [Live Video]
RMAC Tournament Championship – Saturday, 7 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 

---

WE MEET AGAIN
On Friday, the #14-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team will face off against Colorado Mesa in the RMAC Tournament semifinals at 5:30 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena. It will mark the third meeting this season between the Orediggers and Mavericks. It is also the third straight year both teams have met in the conference tournament semifinals. However, the last two were in Grand Junction, Colo., with CMU as the top seed. Now, its Mines that is nationally ranked and hosting the tournament as the RMAC Champion while Mesa will play for its postseason life.
 
NO SPECTATORS ALLOWED
No fans are allowed at any of the RMAC's winter championships. Additionally, the Orediggers announced that the policy of spectators not being allowed at home games will continue into the spring. 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.
 
FIRST ROUND REVIEW
Mines opened the 2021 RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday with a 67-56 win over Regis at Lockridge Arena. It was the only double-digit victory in the first round of the conference tournament. Denali Pinto led all players in scoring and rebounding with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double – her first in over two years. Pinto also contributed two steals, two assists and one block. Courtney Stanton had a double-double as well with 10 points and 10 boards. Ashley Steffeck chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocks. Megan Van de Graaf's 10 points rounded out the double-digit scorers for Mines. Van Sickle provided a signature, utility-knife performance by scoring eight points, grabbing seven rebounds, recording four steals, dishing out three assists and blocking two shots. The Orediggers overcame 28-percent shooting from the floor to earn to the win.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
With two meetings already in the books this season, there is very little to actually scout about Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks are an established defensive power in the RMAC as the #1-ranked scoring defense – the only team ahead of the Orediggers. Mesa limits teams to 54.3 points per game while Mines holds the opposition to 55.4. Just like before, don't expect the point total to crack 120. Individually, Natalie Bartle is CMU's leading scorer, touting 15.2 points per game with Kylyn Rigsby right behind at 14.3. The biggest difference in this contest is the return of Daniella Turner who was out with injury when the teams first met and had only just returned in the last meeting. Turner was leading her team in scoring before missing time and now averages 12.7 points per game. The other key player will be Kelsey Siemons who leads the league and ranks ninth in the nation with 44 blocks on the year. In fact, Siemons production has CMU ranked fourth in the nation in blocked shots as a team while sitting ninth in scoring defense in DII.
 
FAMOUS MAVERICKS
Colorado Mesa's Maverick nickname and its bovine ties have been thoroughly discussed this season. So for this go-around, we look at famous individuals who have graduated from the institution formerly known as Mesa State College. Interestingly, the Colorado Mesa Wikipedia page does not include the standard "Notable Alumni" section, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. A majority of famous Mavericks come from the athletics side of the house. We won't dare try to rank which are most notable, but there are some pretty popular names on the list. Sergio Romo and Brendan Donnelly both tout careers pitching in Major League Baseball (Romo is still active), and hold a total of three World Series rings between the two. Larry Brunson played wide receiver in the NFL and April Heinrichs is the former coach of the highly acclaimed U.S. Women's National Soccer team. Ricky Schroder is an actor made famous in Silver Spoons, NYPD Blue and Lonesome Dove. Most interesting though is Walter White. That's right, Walter White is an alum of Colorado Mesa. However, this Walter White played tight end in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs. We could list more, but that's probably enough famous Mavericks for now.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa owns a hefty advantage in the all-time series against the Orediggers. However, Mines boasts a 2-0 record against CMU during the 2020-21 campaign. It marks the Orediggers' first regular-season sweep of the Mavericks since 1981. In their most recent meeting, Mines rolled to a dominant, 70-51 win over Mesa inside Lockridge Arena. The 19-point advantage was the largest margin of victory for the Orediggers since 1987 and the second-largest in the history of the rivalry. In that game, Denali Pinto scored 18 points while Ashley Steffeck scored 12 and racked up six steals, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Sammy Van Sickle was equally impressive with 12 points, five blocks, four rebounds, two steals and one assist. The last time Mines played Colorado Mesa three times in a single season was the 1995-96 campaign and CMU went 3-0. Oredigger fans won't love it, but it should be noted that Mines has never defeated Colorado Mesa in any sort of postseason game.
 
MINES IN THE RMAC SEMIFINALS
Mines has made four previous trips to the RMAC Tournament semifinals in 2006, 2009, 2019 and 2020. The Orediggers are 2-2 in those appearances. The 2006 edition featured Mines against Nebraska-Kearney after the Orediggers defeated Regis 71-57 in the quarterfinals. Iva Tomova scored 21 points and Ashley Gronewoller grabbed nine rebounds in the 67-61 victory over the Lopers. The Orediggers eventually lost to CSU Pueblo 65-54 in the championship game. The 2009 tournament was nearly a carbon copy with Mines defeating Regis 73-59 in the opening round before taking down Nebraska-Kearney again, 63-56. Brecca Gaffney led the Orediggers with 14 points and eight rebounds. However, Mines' second finals appearance would be spoiled by CSU Pueblo once again, 62-42. In 2019, Colorado Mesa ended the Orediggers' run of semifinals victories with a 62-54 win on CMU's home court despite 13 points and nine rebounds from Denali Pinto. Last season, CMU ended Mines' season again with a 59-47 decision in Grand Junction. Sammy Van Sickle scored 13 points with seven rebounds, three steals, three assists and two blocks in that game as she earned RMAC All-Tournament honors.
 
THE REST OF THE FIELD
Mines was the only team with a double-digit win in the first round of the conference postseason. Black Hills State punched its ticket to Golden with a 71-66 upset of second-seeded Westminster in Salt Lake City. Western Colorado's path to The Front Range included a 77-69 win over sixth-seeded South Dakota Mines in Gunnison, Colo. Colorado Mesa also defended its home court in the quarterfinals by taking down fifth-seeded MSU Denver, 59-53.
 
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Orediggers earned the top spot in the West on Wednesday in the third release of the NCAA Regional Rankings. The first two releases of the regional rankings only listed teams "under consideration" in alphabetical order with no actual ranking assigned. Tuesday's release was the first ranked list of the season and Mines checked in at #1. Western Colorado was right behind at #2 with Westminster at #3, and Azusa Pacific slotted #4. Hawaii Pacific, Point Loma, Colorado Mesa, and MSU Denver rounded it out from 5-8. The NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, March 7 at 8 p.m. will take the top six teams to the NCAA Tournament with the first three rounds hosted by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo., running from March 12-15. Winner of the RMAC Tournament earns an automatic bid to the tournament. Mines is also ranked #14 in the country in the latest media poll and #24 in the coaches' poll. Both slots are the highest in program history.
 
NATIONALLY RANKED
Mines claimed its highest national ranking in program history on Tuesday as the Orediggers rose to #14 in the media poll sponsored by D2SIDA. The Orediggers also jumped back into the coaches' poll at #24 which marks the Mines highest WBCA ranking in program history as well. The Orediggers are the only RMAC team in this week's national rankings which makes Mines well-positioned to advance to the NCAA Tournament as part of the West Region. Other teams from the west that are ranked and poised for selection include Hawaii Pacific (#2/#4) and Azusa Pacific which is #23 in the media poll. The 2020-21 West Regional will be hosted by Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo., running March 12-15 after the NCAA decided to select predetermined host sites to limit the risk of COVID-19 this postseason.
 
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
On Thursday morning, the RMAC unveiled its 2020-21 All-Academic teams. Denali Pinto was voted the RMAC Academic Player of the Year for a second straight season, and grabbed RMAC First-Team All-Academic status as well. Megan Van de Graaf joined Pinto on the first team while Liz Holter, Shelby Nichols, Ashley Steffeck and Sammy Van Sickle were named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll.
 
ALL-RMAC TEAMS
Brittany Simpson headlined Mines' All-RMAC contingency as she brought home RMAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career. In addition to Simpson's top honor, Denali Pinto was named First-Team All-RMAC while Courtney Stanton and Sammy Van Sickle claimed Second-Team All-RMAC distinction. Liz Holter and Ashley Steffeck were Honorable Mention All-RMAC making all five of Mines' starters All-RMAC players. It marks the largest all-conference contingency for the Orediggers with Simpson as head coach.
 
OREDIGGER GEMS
This week, there will be no Oredigger Gem as the author and fans alike, wait for a new Oredigger Gem to be formed on Friday and Saturday night at Lockridge Arena.
 
UP NEXT
If the Orediggers beat CMU, Mines will host the winner of the second semi-final game between Western Colorado and Black Hills State in the RMAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday night at 7 p.m. If the Orediggers lose, they await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday evening at 8 p.m.
 
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.