Mines (2-1) vs. #21 Central Washington (4-0) – Friday, 3:30 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (2-1) vs. Seattle Pacific (1-1) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Denver, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

---

LAST OF THE NON-CONFERENCE
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team closes out its non-conference schedule this Friday and Saturday at Regis Field House in Denver. They face two teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) including #21 Central Washington on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Seattle Pacific on Saturday at 1 p.m. It's all part of the Regis Thanksgiving Classic.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
This weekend's games and the rest of Mines' contests will stream live and for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Network. The RMAC Network can be accessed at www.minesathletics.com/tv, as well as with apps on all major smart TV platforms by searching RMAC. Live statistics are also available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Orediggers played their 2022-23 home opener last Saturday and suffered a 59-47 loss to Nebraska-Kearney at Lockridge Arena. Ashley Steffeck and Jessica Rios were Mines' leading scorers with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. That duo also combined for six steals, six rebounds, two assists and one block. Sammy Van Sickle was also big for the home team, touting 12 rebounds, four points, two blocks, one steal and one assist. Trinity Law and Klaire Kirsch combined for 30 points for UNK.
 
SCOUTING CENTRAL WASHGINTON
Central Washington comes to Colorado undefeated at 4-0 with a red-hot offense. All four of the Wildcat wins have come at neutral sites against Cal State East Bay, Stanislaus State, MSU Denver, and Westminster College. They are averaging 88 points a game with an average margin of victory just under 19 points. Samantha Bowman and Valerie Huerta are the CWU leaders. They average 20.8 and 20.3 points per game, respectively. Bowman also pulls down 14.8 rebounds per contest and has 10 blocks in four games. Furthermore, the duo of Bowman and Huerta combined to hand out over 9.0 assists per game. Bowman is one of eight players in NCAA Division II with four double-doubles this season. In the early going, the Wildcats rank top-10 in the nation in six different statistical categories including #3 in three-pointers per game and #3 in scoring offense.
 
NOTING THE CWU SERIES
This weekend's game marks the second-ever meeting between Mines and Central Washington in women's basketball. The first meeting was on Nov. 17, 2017, in Golden. The Orediggers were victorious in a 61-56 win. Most notable was Nichole Archambeau scoring 17 points and pulling down 15 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING SEATTLE PACIFIC
Seattle Pacific starts the weekend 1-1 overall as the Falcons face host Regis on Friday at 1 p.m. Seattle Pacific lost its season opener to Cal State San Marcos, 70-62. The Falcons bounced back for a 70-64 victory against Azusa Pacific. The early leaders for SPU include Anna Eddy and her 16.5 points per game with Schuyler Berry averaging 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds. 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Also notable is Ashley Alter who is averaging 13.5 points per game. As a team, the Falcons average 66 points per game and give up 67.
 
NOTING THE SPU SERIES
The all-time series between Mines and Seattle Pacific features two previous meetings, and the Orediggers won both. The series premier came on Nov. 13, 1998 in Billings, Mont. Mines earned the 57-45 win there. The latest meeting was in Seattle on Nov. 22, 2019. The Orediggers' winning score was 66-55 behind Sammy Van Sickle's 14 points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists.
 
RECORD BOOK REVISIONS
Two Orediggers to keep an eye on this season are Ashley Steffeck and Sammy Van Sickle as they both climb Mines' all-time lists in multiple categories. In just three games this season, Steffeck has moved to #2 in the program record book with 244 career steals. She already owns the single-game and single-season records, and just surpassed Marissa Eichhorn's mark of 239 from 1998-02. Sammy Van Sickle is climbing the all-time rebounds, blocks, assists, steals and scoring list. She's less than 300 points away from 1,000 for her career. The Arvada, Colo., native also ranks #6 in all-time rebounds, and #7 in all-time assists. She is six blocks off the all-time top-five as well.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson is in her 11th season leading the Mines women's basketball program. During her decade tenure, she has become the winningest coach in program history both in terms of total wins and win percentage at 175-109 (61.6). Simpson is responsible for all three of the program's RMAC titles including regular-season championships in 2015-16, 2020-21, and 2021-22, as well as three of four trips to the NCAA Tournament. She is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year who has guided 31 All-RMAC selections including 11 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers, one third-team selection and eight honorable mention performers.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Week two of the regular season saw Mines drop one spot to #21 in the coaches' poll. However, the Orediggers did fall out of the media poll sponsored by D2SIDA but continue to receive votes. As Mines dropped out of the media poll, Central Washington jumped in at #21. No other team from the RMAC is currently appearing in the national rankings.
 
UP NEXT
Mines opens its conference slate Dec. 2-3 with a road trip to Colorado Mesa and Westminster. Live coverage will be offered 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.