#13 Mines (12-1, 7-0 RMAC) at South Dakota Mines (1-13, 1-7 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. – Rapid City, S.D. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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FINALLY
After a pair of postponed games and two weeks off from competition, the #13 Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team is returning to action at South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. It will be the Orediggers' first game since Jan. 1 and their first road trip since Dec. 17-18. Despite the hiatus, Colorado School of Mines remains undefeated in RMAC play while sitting atop the league standings with a nine-game win streak in tow to Rapid City.
 
CH-CH-CHANGES
Mines' home game against New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 8 and the Orediggers' road contest at Regis for Jan. 11 were both postponed due to health and safety protocols. The game with Regis will now be played on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 5 p.m. inside Regis Field House. Mines and NMHU are still working on a new date which will be announced when decided at www.minesathletics.com.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All of Mines' RMAC contests will stream live and for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. The new watch portal is available online at www.minesathletics.com/tv or www.rmacnetwork.com. Fans can also download the RMAC Network app on their smart TV or device by searching "RMAC" in their respective app stores.
 
LOOKING BACK
The last time the Orediggers took the court was New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They dominated both Chadron Sate and Black Hills State inside Lockridge Arena. Friday's contest was a 87-41 victory over CSC thanks to Sammy Van Sickle's 18-point, 17-rebound double-double. Saturday resulted in a 67-55 win for Mines against Black Hills State as Courtney Stanton dropped 14 points while Van Sickle went for 11 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals. The pair of victories extended the Orediggers' win streak to nine and improved their best start to a season in program history. The wins also kept Mines #1 in the league standings ahead of three one-loss teams.
 
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The Hardrockers from Rapid City started their season with 12 consecutive losses including one to the Orediggers. Their first win of the season came at home against Fort Lewis on Jan. 4 by a score of 74-72. That being said, four of South Dakota Mines' losses have been by three points, or less. Notable non-conference losses came to traditional powerhouses in West Texas A&M, Northern State and Wayne State College out of Nebraska. The team's strength is three-point shooting where they rank #48 in the nation in three-pointers attempted and #52 in three-pointers made. Ryan Weiss is a familiar name around the RMAC and she is the player to watch as she leads SDM with 10.9 points per game. Makenna Bodette is right behind touting 10.2 points per game as well as 7.1 rebounds per contest. Defense's should be aware of Piper Bauer as well who ranks #36 in the nation in three-pointers attempted and #39 in three-pointers made. Also notable is Anna Combalia whose 4.2 assists per game rank top-40 in the nation.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado School of Mines owns an 8-6 advantage in the all-time series against South Dakota Mines. That mark is fueled by three straight wins including an 80-51 victory at Lockridge Arena on Dec. 2 of this season. That blowout marked the Orediggers' largest margin of victory over the Hardrockers since the rivalry began on Jan. 3, 1999. Sammy Van Sickle was big in the win with 18 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and three steals. Megan Van de Graaf, Courtney Stanton and Ashley Steffeck scored in double digits as well. Van de Graaf and Stanton nearly touched double-doubles with nine rebounds and eight rebounds, respectively. The last time Colorado School of Mines lost to SDM was on Feb. 22, 2020 in a 77-75 heartbreaker in Golden. The Orediggers' last loss in Rapid City was a 56-54 nail-biter on Feb. 23, 2019. When playing the Hardrockers, the Orediggers are 5-3 at home and 3-3 on the road while going 6-4 over the last 10 meetings.
 
RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK – X5
After her outbursts on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, Sammy Van Sickle swept the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week and RMAC Offensive Player of the Week awards. It marked Van Sickles' fourth defensive award of the season and the first weekly offensive honor of her entire career. The Oredigger senior swept the honors by averaging a 14.5-point, 12.5-rebound double-double through two games while also racking up a total of six assists, five blocks and three steals. Her production was fueled by an 18-point, 17-rebound double-double in Mines' 87-41 win over Chadron State on New Year's Eve. Van Sickle followed up with 11 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, three assists and two steals as the Orediggers toppled Black Hills State 67-55. For the week, the Arvada, Colo., native converted 63 percent of her shots from the floor including a 50-percent mark from long range.
 
MCKALE RETURNS
On Dec. 31, 2021, McKale Grant returned to action for the first time since March 6, 2020. After 665 days away from competition, Grant needed just five minutes to score four points and grab one steal. Those points marked her first field goals since Feb. 14, 2020. Grant is a redshirt senior who just earned her bachelor's degree from Mines in chemical engineering. She's now pursuing a master's degree in quantitative biosciences as she closes out her career.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
As of Tuesday, Jan. 11, Colorado School of Mines owned the #13 slot in both the coaches' and media polls. The Orediggers' standing on the WBCA list marked a one-spot jump from #14 despite the idle week. They are the only RMAC program appearing in the WBCA rankings. Mines' standing in the media poll sponsored by D2SIDA marked its second straight week at #13 with Colorado Mesa joining the fun at #22. Drury University out of Missouri currently holds the #1 spot in both rankings thanks to an overall record of 16-1.
 
HALFWAY POINT
Saturday marks the halfway point of Mines' 28-game, regular-season schedule for the 2021-22 season. Through 13 games, the Orediggers are 12-1 overall while sitting 7-0 in conference play. As a team, Mines ranks #1 in the RMAC in 13 different statistical categories including scoring offense and scoring defense. Nationally, the Orediggers are top-10 in NCAA Division II in steals per game, offensive rebounds per game, assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, scoring margin, total steals, turnover margin, rebound margin, scoring defense and overall winning percentage.  Three individuals are averaging double figures in scoring led by Denali Pinto's 11.6 points a game. Ashley Steffeck and Courtney Stanton boast 11.0 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Steffeck is #5 in the nation in total steals and #7 in steals per game. Liz Holter and Sammy Van Sickle are #13 and #21, respectively, in assist-to-turnover ratio. None of that includes the five Orediggers ranked top-10 in the RMAC in 16 different categories.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
This weekend marks a homecoming of sorts for the Orediggers' Loralee Stock. Mines' junior guard graduated from Sturgis Brown High School in Sturgis, S.D. which is located less than 40 miles from the campus of South Dakota Mines – 36 miles according to Google Maps to be exact. During Mines' last trip to Rapid City, Stock played 10 minutes and scored four points with one steal in the Orediggers' 66-52 victory. Also notable for the Orediggers is Liz Holter who touts significant family ties to Pierre, S.D., less than three hours from SDM's campus. Holter's last trip to the Rushmore State featured nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
 
UP NEXT
Mines returns to Lockridge Arena next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21-22, for showdowns against #22 Colorado Mesa and Westminster. Tickets can be purchased online at www.minesthletics.com/tickets or at the door. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network 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.