DENVER, Colo. – The #7-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team was handed its first conference loss of the season on Friday night as Regis toppled the Orediggers, 76-64, at Regis Field House.
 
Mines took the loss despite Sammy Van Sickle scoring a season-high 22 points on 50-percent shooting from the floor. She also grabbed four rebounds with three steals, two blocks and two assists. Josephine Howery tallied 13 points, four steals and four assists. Also notable were nine rebounds from Ashley Steffeck who also scored eight points, while Ashley Van Sickle dished out four assists.
 
The Orediggers (13-2, 9-1 RMAC) saw their 11-game win streak come to a close, but maintained sole possession of first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. They only committed nine turnovers in the loss. Regis (10-5, 7-2 RMAC) extended its win streak to six and positioned itself inside the top three of the league standings. Mines did 15 Ranger turnovers while racking up nine steals. The statistical difference came in shooting percentages as Mines converted 32 percent of its field goals and went 3-of-7 at the free-throw lines. Regis shot 43 percent from the floor and was 23-of-30 at the charity stripe.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sammy Van Sickle drained a three-pointer 1:08 into the action and provided the visitors a 3-0 lead. Even so, Regis ended up leading nearly seven minutes of the opening period and over 16 minutes of the first half. Late baskets from Sammy Van Sickle in each of the first quarters sent Mines into halftime only facing a 30-27 deficit. That led to a third quarter which was all Orediggers. They charged in to the lead on a 5-0 run in the first 69 seconds of half. Then, Mines piled up a 12-0 run spanning 3:37 of action to take a 48-39 advantage. The visitors finished the third frame touting a 60-percent shooting percentage.
 
However, the story of the game was the final period. Regis played fastidious defense and kept the Orediggers without a field goal for the first 9:05 of the fourth quarter. The result was a 21-2 run by the Rangers which was only broken up by free throws from Steffeck. Mines piled up eight points in the final 60 seconds thanks to Sammy Van Sickle and Jessica Rios, but it was too little too late. At the final buzzer, there had been six ties and seven lead changes, but the home team had led for 25 minutes of action.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines dropped to 29-54 in the all-time series, but is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings. Regis' win snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Orediggers.
- Friday marked Mines' third game at Regis Field House this season including two other neutral-site contests.
- Sammy Van Sickle notched her first game over 20 points since dropping 21 at Colorado Mesa on Feb. 19, 2022.
- Van Sickle's four boards moved her to #4 on the program's all-time rebounding list. She surpassed Jamie Frisch who had 772 from 1994-98.
- Howery produced four steals in a game for the third time in her career, matching her personal best.
- Ashley Van Sickle's four assists marked a personal best in a Mines uniform, and Jenna Siebert matched her career high in the same category.
- Regis' Erin Fry drew 12 fouls, went 14-of-17 at the free-throw line, and finished with 20 points and nine assists.
- Mines hadn't lost to RU since Feb. 7, 2018, and not inside Regis Field House since Feb. 5, 2016.
- Despite the loss, the Orediggers have earned all their wins this season by double digits.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is 187-109 in her 11th season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces UCCS in Colorado Springs on Saturday at 5 p.m. Free live coverage will be linked 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.­­­