(1) #20 Mines (24-4, 19-3 RMAC) vs. (8) Western Colorado (11-15, 9-12 RMAC) – Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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WHOLE NEW SEASON
Tuesday marks the start of a whole new season for the #20-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team as they open the 2022 RMAC Tournament. The Orediggers earned the conference's regular season title and the top seed by virtue of their 19-3, RMAC record which fueled an overall mark of 24-4. Mines will host the eighth-seeded Mountaineers of Western Colorado who earned their berth by way of the performance indicator after finishing the season well under the .500 mark at 11-15 and 9-12. Both records go away on Tuesday in the single-elimination tournament and the name of the game becomes win, or go home.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All games in the RMAC Tournament will stream live and for free on the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Network. If fans hadn't heard, 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.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
As stated above, the RMAC's postseason is single elimination with eight teams in the bracket. Tuesday's quarterfinals are played on the four campuses of the higher seeded teams. That puts seventh-seeded UCCS at second-seeded Colorado Mesa while seventh-seeded MSU Denver goes to the third seed Westminster. CSU Pueblo and Black Hills State will duke it out in Pueblo as the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively. Tuesday's winners head to the highest remaining seed for the semifinals and finals. If Mines defeats Western Colorado, the Orediggers will face the winner between "The Pack" and BHSU.
 
CLINCHING THE CROWN
Mines closed the regular season over the weekend with a pair of games at home. The result was a 2-0 record and a second straight RMAC Regular Season Championship. The Orediggers claimed at least a share of the title on Friday by way of their 83-58 win against Adams State. Denali Pinto and Megan Van de Graaf each poured in 23 points to get the victory and combined for a total of 15 rebounds as well. If Friday was the penultimate, then Saturday was the ultimate showdown as Mines hosted CSU Pueblo. A win for the ThunderWolves would have given them a share of the championship as well as the #1 seed. Instead, Mines got the win by double digits 53-40 and claimed the crown all for itself. Pinto was the only player in double digits for the Orediggers thanks to 10 points. Also key was Ashley Steffeck's nine points, six steals and four rebounds. Saturday also marked Senior Night as McKale Grant, Liz Holter, Denali Pinto and Courtney Stanton were recognized at halftime of the men's game.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado stumbles into the postseason after losing five of its last six games while cancelling a seventh against Black Hills State. That being said, the Mountaineers lone win during that stretch was a massive, 69-50 upset of Colorado Mesa which was tied for second in the conference standings at the time. Outside of that major victory, WCU only owns two wins since Jan. 22 with victories at Colorado Christian and at home against New Mexico Highlands.  Grace Kirscher is the leading scorer for the Mountaineers with 10.3 points per game, but hasn't seen action since Feb. 1. In her stead, Katie Dalton, Samantha Coleman and Emmery Wagstaff have teamed up to average 10.0, 9.6 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Wagstaff is also tops on the glass with 4.5 boards and touts 48 made three-pointers on the season. As a team, Western Colorado puts up 59.0 points per game while giving up 63.0 per contest to the opposition.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Mines and Western Colorado played twice during the regular season and the Orediggers won both. That improved them to 28-38 in the all-time series and gives Mines three straight wins against WCU. Sammy Van Sickle starred in the first meeting in 2021-22 by putting up an 18-point, 13-rebound double-double which included two steals, two assists and one block in Gunnison. Denali Pinto chipped in 10 points, four steals, two assists and two blocks as well. In Golden, Courtney Stanton took center stage with 16 points and four rebounds. Van Sickle was big again with five steals. The Orediggers are 7-3 in their last 10 matchups with the Mountaineers. Western Colorado's last win against Mines was a 57-51 decision on Dec. 18, 2020, in Golden. It marked the last of three straight wins for WCU over the Orediggeers.
 
RMAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Tuesday marks Mines' seventh straight appearance in the RMAC postseason. Last year, the Orediggers started the tournament 2-0 before bowing out of the championship game due to COVID-19 protocols. Because of that, Black Hills State was named the tournament champion by default as the Yellow Jackets cut the nets inside Lockridge Arena. Under Head Coach Brittany Simpson, Mines has advanced to eight conference tournaments in 10 seasons. The Orediggers also earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 2016 and 2021. Mines has made three runs to the RMAC Tournament Championship game. The first appearance was 2006 as the eighth seed. The Orediggers' second appearance in the final was 2009 as the third seed. As referenced above, 2020-21 marked Mines' third trip to the championship game which was never played. Overall, Mines is 8-19 in the conference postseason.
 
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
The impact of Saturday's win for Mines has been well documented, but it can't hurt to summarize one more time. With their 53-40 win against CSU Pueblo, the Orediggers earned their second straight RMAC Regular Season Championship and the third conference title in program history. Their first crown came in 2015-16 as Mines went 21-7 overall and 19-3 in conference play. The second title was last season when the Orediggers posted records of 17-3 and 14-3. Mines' latest championship came on the laurels of a 24-4 (19-3 RMAC) regular season in which the Orediggers were the #1 team in the RMAC in scoring offense and scoring defense. They also ranked #10 in the nation in scoring defense while sitting #1 in total steals, #2 in steals per game, #3 in turnover margin, #8 in turnovers forced and #9 in assist-to-turnover ratio. Brittany Simpson has been the head coach for all three conference titles as well as two of Mines' three berths in the national tournament.
 
RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ashley Steffeck earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week earlier on Monday. It marked her second weekly award of the season and fifth of her career. Steffeck earned the honor behind after producing a total of 12 steals, five rebounds and two blocks in two games over the weekend. The Fort Collins, Colo., native also added 15 points and seven assists with zero turnovers. She started the weekend turning out six points, six steals, six assists and two blocks in Mines' 83-58 win against Adams State at Lockridge Arena. That victory gave the Orediggers a share of the RMAC title. On Saturday, Steffeck added six more steals, nine points, four rebounds and one assist as Mines toppled CSU Pueblo, 53-40, to claim the outright, undisputed conference crown.
 
FUN FACT OF THE WEEK
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Mines had only won two games in the RMAC postseason since 2009. However, since 2019-20, the Orediggers boast a RMAC Tournament record of 3-1. That's pretty much it. Just seemed kind of interesting.
 
UP NEXT
If Mines wins on Tuesday, it will host the RMAC Tournament semifinals and final game on Friday and Saturday at Lockridge Arena. Game times on Friday would be 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. If the Orediggers fall on Tuesday, they'll await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, March 6, to see if they earned a berth in the eight-team field for the NCAA South Central Region Tournament. All applicable announcements and updates will be published 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.