2022-23 All-RMAC Teams

COLORADO SPRINGS – Sammy Van Sickle was the headliner for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team on Wednesday as she was crowned the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year with three Orediggers earning First-Team All-RMAC honors.
 
Along with her superlative award as the best defender in the league, Van Sickle was also voted First-Team All-RMAC. Ashley Steffeck and Megan Van de Graaf were named First-Team All-RMAC as well. The Oredigger trio led the league in first-team selections, and no other team had more players voted to the first or second teams. The All-RMAC teams and award winners were voted on by all 15 head coaches across the league. Coaches could not vote for their own players. The 2022-23 RMAC Player of the Year was Regis' Erin Fry. Colorado Mesa's Olivia Reed won RMAC Freshman of the Year. Mario Caetano of Adams State was voted RMAC Coach of the Year.
 
Van Sickle gives Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball back-to-back RMAC Defensive Players of the Year after Steffeck won the award in 2021-22. The Oredigger graduate student is now a two-time, First-Team All-RMAC player and three-time All-RMAC performer in her career. In 2022-23 alone, Van Sickle touts averages of 9.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.8 blocks. Through the regular season, she ranked #1 in blocks, #3 in steals, #3 in defensive rebounding, and #4 in overall performance on the glass. Furthermore, Van Sickle was #2 in the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio and #4 in assists per game. She earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week twice during the year and added RMAC First-Team All-Academic and CSC Academic All-District to her resume as well.
 
Steffeck's First-Team All-RMAC nod marked the first of her career. She was voted Second-Team All-RMAC and RMAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 while grabbing Honorable Mention All-RMAC in 2020-21. Her 2022-23 campaign was fueled by 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. Those numbers ranked the senior #1 in the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, #2 in steals, #8 in assists, and #11 in scoring. Steffeck also ranked #3 in the league in free-throw percentage, going 92-of-112 through 28 games. In the last contest of the regular season, the Fort Collins, Colo., native surpassed 1,000 points for her career. She's also the program's leader in single-game, single-season, and all-time steals. Other 2022-23 awards for Steffeck included three RMAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades, RMAC First-Team All-Academic, and CSC Academic All-District.
 
Van de Graaf brought home the first All-RMAC award of her career after earning top-squad accolades. The graduate student averaged 13.6 points on 53-percent shooting while grabbing 5.0 rebounds per game and also dishing out one assist per game. Through the last seven games of the regular season, the Texan averaged over 19.0 points per game and had a 31-point outburst at Fort Lewis. That made her the 14th Oredigger to ever score 30 points in a game and the first since Denali Pinto. Van de Graaf's numbers put her #3 in the RMAC in field-goal percentage, #12 in scoring, and #25 in rebounding. Earlier this year she earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, RMAC First-Team All-Academic, and CSC Academic All-District as well.
 
Steffeck, Van de Graaf, Van Sickle and the Orediggers won their RMAC tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday night against Colorado Mesa by score of 66-60. They continue their season Friday in the RMAC semifinals against sixth-seeded MSU Denver at Regis Field House at 7:30 p.m. Fans are encourage to pre-purchase tickets online, but can buy tickets at the door. No pass lists or season passes are used for the postseason. Free live stats and video on the RMAC Network will also 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.­­­