PUEBLO, Colo. – The #5-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team saw its historic win streak halted on Friday in a 70-59 loss at CSU Pueblo inside Massari Arena.
Mines wore the loss even though
Denali Pinto scored 14 points and
Ashley Steffeck scored 15. Stanton chipped in 11 points while Steffeck added four steals as well.
Josephine Howery,
Liz Holter,
Shelby Nichols and Pinto had multiple steals as well. Pinto and Stanton capped the notable Oredigger performances with three assists and seven rebounds, respectively.
Those lines nearly helped Mines (16-2, 11-1 RMAC) rally from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit as the Orediggers pulled within five points. However, CSU Pueblo (15-5, 11-3) closed out the win by shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor while holding the guests to 29-percent shooting. Mines also suffered from a 45-28 rebounding deficit but still forced "The Pack" to commit 25 turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
During the week leading up to Friday's contest, CSU Pueblo's Women's Basketball Head Coach Tommie Johnson touted the game as, "made for TV." While the first three quarters were far from must-see television, the final 10 minutes nearly lived up to the billing. The first period was hotly contested with scoring at a premium as CSU Pueblo closed the first 10 minutes holding an 11-10 lead. Then, the ThunderWolves exploded for a 22-9 lead and ended the half touting a 33-19 advantage. The home team pushed that lead out to 20 in the third quarter before the Orediggers staged their rally.
Mines started the rally with a 13-4 surge to close the third frame. Howery and Steffeck pushed it to a 17-4 run with back-to-back baskets at the start of the fourth quarter. However, CSU Pueblo put it back together and answered with an 8-0 run and extended the lead back to 16 at 58-42. The Orediggers responded once again with a 9-0 run fueled by four points from Steffeck and a Holter bucket from behind the arc. That push made the score 58-51 in favor of "The Pack".
With 5:39 left to play, both teams proceeded to exchange baskets and fouls with minimal consequence. At the 1:51 mark, Mines scored four, unanswered points in less than 30 seconds to pull within five at 63-58. However, blocked shots and missed attempts down the stretch doomed the Orediggers as CSU Pueblo clinched the upset victory at home.
NOTABLES
- Friday's loss snapped Mines' six-game win streak against CSU Pueblo and dropped the Orediggers to 25-37 in the all-time series.
- Mines also lost its active 13-game win streak which tied the 2021-22 team for the longest win streak in program history. The Orediggers last won 13 straight games during the 2015-16 season after starting 0-2.
- Notable now for the opposition are wins over then #1-ranked Lubbock Christian and current #5 Colorado School of Mines along with a narrow loss to then #10 Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Mines suffered the loss without the services of senior
Sammy Van Sickle.
- Pinto and Steffeck combined to go a combined 15-of-18 at the free-throw line on Friday.
- Steffeck also played 39 of 40 minutes and now boasts 29 steals in her last three games. She is now tied for #5 on the Orediggers' all-time list with 191 career steals.
- Additionally, Steffeck is took over #4 on Mines' single-season steals list.
- Holter moved over 300 assists for her career which includes 61 at NCAA Division I Incarnate Word.
- Coach Simpson is 165-103 in her 10th season as head coach.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers travel to Adams State for a game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. 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.
