GOLDEN, Colo. – The #21-ranked Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team used balanced scoring and disciplined play in the first round of the 2023 RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night to earn a 66-60 win against seventh-seeded Colorado Mesa and advance to theb semifinals.
Three different Orediggers scored in double digits.
Ashley Steffeck led the trio with 21 points. She added five rebounds, four assists, and three steals as well.
Josephine Howery poured in 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting including a 3-for-4 mark from behind the arc.
Megan Van de Graaf rounded out the double-digit scoring party with 12 points. The rest of her resume included seven rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Also notable was
Sammy Van Sickle. She played an all-around game and finished touting 13 rebounds, nine points, five assists, and two steals.
Mines (23-5) overcame multiple disadvantages on the stat sheet by forcing 16 Colorado Mesa turnovers and draining five three-pointers. Those CMU turnovers were converted into 16 points for the Orediggers. The home team only committed eight turnovers and shot over 78-percent at the free-throw line as well. The Mavericks found 28 points in the paint and shot over 45 percent from the floor including Tia Slade's 8-of-14 performance leading to 19 points. Their defense held Mines to a 35-percent field-goal percentage. With the win, the Orediggers advance to the conference tournament semifinals for a fifth straight year. The loss brings Colorado Mesa's season to a close.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The score was never tied, and Mines never trailed on Tuesday night. The Orediggers stormed to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter.
Sammy Van Sickle led the charge with six points, four rebounds, and three assists. Steffeck and Howery contributed five points apiece in the first 10 minutes of play. Mines eventually pushed its lead to 14 points at the 4:39 mark of the second quarter on a
Loralee Stock jumper which made the score 31-17. However, the game would be no boomschlopping. Colorado Mesa held the home team scoreless for the rest of the period and went into halftime riding an 8-0 run. Neither team scored in the final 2:28 of the quarter.
Whatever Mines Head Coach
Brittany Simpson said in the locker room worked. The Orediggers came out of the break and went on a 12-3 surge, taking a 43-28 lead.
Jessica Rios capped the run by draining a three-pointer 3:04 into the quarter on an assist from
Sammy Van Sickle. Once again, the Mavericks found a way back into the game. After a Howery three-pointer with 4:34 to play in the quarter, CMU went on a 10-2 run and cut its deficit to 49-43. While both teams scored 17 points apiece in the final frame, it was Steffeck taking control of the game and pouring in 11 fourth-quarter points to clinch the Oredigger victory.
NOTABLES
- Tuesday marked Mines' 20th win in the all-time series against Colorado Mesa. The Orediggers improved to 20-61 in the rivalry including a 6-2 mark through the last eight meetings.
- Mines hasn't lost in the RMAC tournament quarterfinals since 2018.
- The Orediggers have faced Colorado Mesa in three of their last five RMAC Tournament appearances. Mines is 2-1 in those meetings.
- Steffeck notched her second straight 20-point performance and eighth of the season. She now touts 1,031 career points.
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Sammy Van Sickle has pulled down 13 rebounds in three of Mines' last seven games. She's #2 all-time at Mines and just 11 rebounds shy of becoming the program's all-time leader on the glass.
- Van Sickle's five assists tied her for #5 on the Orediggers' all-time, single-season list. She's also tied for #7 on the single-season steals list.
- Mines only committed eight turnovers against CMU, tying for its second-fewest of the season.
- Head Coach
Brittany Simpson is 197-112 in her 11th season leading the Orediggers.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will play sixth-seeded MSU Denver on Friday at Regis in Denver in the RMAC semifinals. Tipoff will be announced at a later time. A full preview will be released on Thursday at
www.minesathletics.com. Live stats and video on the RMAC Network will also be available.
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.
