Mines (2-0) at #6/24 Texas Woman's (5-0) – Thursday, 6 p.m. CT – Denton, Texas [Live Stats] [LSC Network-PPV]
Mines (2-0) at West Texas A&M (2-2) – Saturday, 1 p.m. CT – Canyon, Texas [Live Stats] [LSC Network-PPV]

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LONE STAR LIVIN'
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team is taking its first road trip of the season this week, and its headed to Texas to face #6/24 Texas Woman's on Thursday with a showdown at West Texas A&M on Saturday. The Orediggers will look to build on their 2-0 start from opening weekend while facing their first nationally-ranked opponent of the season. Tipoff on Thursday is slated for 6 p.m. CT. Sautrday's game is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
There will be live video for both road games this week. The stream will be hosted on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network which is behind a paywall. Cost options include $15 for a single-game pass. Fans can also get a monthly subscription for $30 which renews automatically once purchased. There is also a LSC Yearly Pass for $140. Each purchase includes a service fee as well. There will also be free live stats as linked above.
 
PERFECT START
Mines opened its 2023-24 campaign last weekend with a 2-0 record inside Lockridge Arena. The Orediggers rolled past St. Mary's on Friday by a score of 81-68. Ashley Steffeck's 24 points led all players thanks to five three-pointers. She also had five steals, four assists, and one block. Shelby Nichols and Quincey Baum joined Steffeck in double digits with 10 points apiece. Nichols added four assists as well. Saturday saw Mines grind out a 76-68 victory against St. Edward's. Steffeck loomed large again, exploding for a 31-point, 13-rebound double-double thanks to five more three-pointers. Three assists, three steals, and one block rounded out her resume for the game. Josphine Howery chipped in 12 points and Nichols added four more assists.
 
RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
It should come as no surprise that Ashley Steffeck was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday thanks to her efforts on opening weekend. It marked the first RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award of her career. For the weekend, the Fort Collins, Colo., native averaged 27.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks per game. Her scoring average ranks #1 in the RMAC and #5 in the nation. She's also #1 in the nation in three-pointers per game while nationally sitting #14 in steals per game. Over the previous four seasons, Steffeck had collected eight RMAC Defensive Player of the Week awards, but never a weekly honor for her offensive prowess.
 
200 WINS
Last Saturday's win against St. Edward's gave Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson the 200th win of her career. It makes Simpson the only head coach in program history to reach the milestone. By default, it also makes her the fastest to 200 career wins in the history of Mines women's basketball. The milestone added to Simpson's impressive resume which saw her become the winningest coach in the history of Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball on Dec. 4, 2020, in a 68-53 win over South Dakota Mines inside Lockridge Arena. Simpson is now in her 12th season as skipper of the Orediggers.
 
OREDIGGER DEBUTS
Mines had two different players take the court in an Oredigger jersey for the first time over opening weekend. The first was Audrey Beaty who came to Mines after playing her freshman season at Emporia State. Beaty finished the weekend with 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. She was also 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Emma Sixta was the other Oredigger debut as she played in her first collegiate game ever. The true freshman turned in 11 points including two three-pointers along with seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
 
STEFFECK STAT TRACKER
After her outstanding start to the season, Ashley Steffeck continues to climb many of Mines' all-time lists in the program record book. Her 55 points pushed her to 1,163 points for her career which remains #9 all-time, but sits just 12 points shy of Laura Tyree's 1,175 from 2013-17. Steffeck's 10 three-pointers moved her up to 142 career makes from behind the arc. That surpassed Courtney Gallo's 142 from 20101-14 making Steffeck #6 in the program record book. With seven assists on opening weekend, Steffeck upped her career number in that category to 309. That keeps her #6 in the program record book and just six shy of Peanut Eickelman who dished out 315 from 2005-09. Notable is the fact that Steffeck already holds the program steals record. Her historic number is now at 333.
 
SCOUTING TEXAS WOMAN'S
Texas Woman's University started its season a week earlier than most, competing at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic. The Pioneers finished their trip to Billings, Mont., with a 3-0 record including wins over #15 MSU Billings, #2 Minnesota State, and the University of Mary. All three wins came by single digits. During TWU's conference challenge at home, the Pioneers downed Western Colorado, 66-47, and MSU Denver, 66-36. They welcome Mines to Denton, Texas, with a perfect 5-0 record while appearing at #6 in the sports information directors' poll and #24 in the coaches' national poll. Early scoring leaders for Texas Woman's include Ashley Ingram and Leila Patel who both won conference player of the week honors. Ingram averages 19.4 points per game and Patel is averaging 15.6 points per game. Ingram's 7.0 rebound average also leads the team. Overall, TWU has a plus-3.2 rebound margin and a plus-11.8 scoring margin on their opposition. The Pioneers average 70.8 points per game while shooting 42 percent from the floor and 34 percent from long range.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE PIONEERS
Mines and Texas Woman's have faced off once before in women's basketball. The Pioneers earned a 68-61 win at home on Dec. 30, 2000.
 
SCOUTING WEST TEXAS A&M
A once-dominant West Texas A&M women's basketball program is off to a 2-2 start to the season. The Lady Buffs dropped a 77-64 game to Adams State before downing then-#12 Azusa Pacific by a score of 70-63. Last weekend, WTAMU fell to Colorado Mesa, 70-51, before earning a 76-63 win over South Dakota Mines. Saturday's game is West Texas A&M's only contest of the week. The team is led by 11.5 points per game from Grace Alvarez and 11.0 points per game from Karley Motschenbacher. Only nine individuals have seen the court through the first four games. Nyalam Thabach leads on the boards thanks to 8.3 rebounds per game. She has also blocked eight shots. Notable as well are 4.8 assists per game from Alvarez and 3.0 dimes per game from Motschenbacher. The Lady Buffs are averaging 65.3 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the floor and 30 percent from long range. They do convert nearly 80 percent of their free-throw opportunities.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE LADY BUFFS
Colorado School of Mines and West Texas A&M have met twice before in women's basketball. The rivalry started in 2015 with a 65-42 WTAMU win inside Lockridge Arena. The Lady Buffs came to Golden, Colo., again on Nov. 16, 2018, and won by a score of 84-73. That last meeting came one year before Ashley Steffeck's arrival at Mines.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson enters her 12th 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 200-114 (63.6). Simpson is responsible for all three of the program's RMAC titles including regular-season championships in 2015-16, 2020-21, and 2021-22. She has also led the Orediggers in four of their five trips to the NCAA tournament. Simpson is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year who has guided 34 All-RMAC selections including 14 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers, one third-team selection and eight honorable mention performers. She has also coached one RMAC Player of the Year, two RMAC Defensive Players of the Year, and two RMAC Freshman of the Year award winners. Eight of Mines' 13 1,000-point scorers have surpassed the milestone under Simpson's watch. Last season, Ashley Steffeck became the first all-American in program history after earning Honorable Mention All-America status from the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA).
 
HOME HEAVY SCHEDULE
Following this week's road trip, Mines returns home for four straight games including the Thanksgiving Classic with #15 Regis, Cameron, and #15/21 MSU Billings coming to Lockridge Arena. That stretch also includes the Orediggers' conference openers against Colorado Mesa and Westminster. In December, Mines takes a four-game road trip which includes stops in South Dakota, at MSU Denver, and at Western Colorado. A January 6 contest against Colorado Christian opens the new year. Overall, fifteen of Mines' 28 games in the regular season will be played inside Lockridge Arena. They will also host four neutral site games including the two this weekend.
 
IN THE POLLS
Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball was picked #2 in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll released last month. The Orediggers' projected finish came by way of 168 points including one first-place vote. They finished 24 points behind defending RMAC champion Regis. The Rangers accumulated 192 points on 12 first-place votes to take the top spot. CSU Pueblo came in at #3 on the merits of 165 points and two first-place votes. Adams State rounded out the top four with 164 points. The preseason list was voted on by all 15 head coaches in the league. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
UP NEXT
Mines is back at home next weekend for the Thanksgiving Classic. The Orediggers face Cameron on Friday at 5 p.m. before a 5 p.m. tipoff on Saturday against #15/21 MSU Billings. There will also be contests between #15 Regis and MSU Billings on Friday at 7 p.m. with the Rangers playing Cameron on Saturday at 5 p.m. Free live video on the RMAC Network and live stats will be available for all four contests.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on "X" (formerly 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.