Mines (19-5, 14-4 RMAC) at Colorado Christian (14-10, 10-8 RMAC) – Friday, 5 p.m. – Lakewood, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (19-5, 14-4 RMAC) at Chadron State (6-16, 4-14 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. – Chadron, Neb. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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ROAD TRIPPIN'
The final road trip of the 2023-24 regular season has arrived for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team. After falling in three of their last four outing, the Orediggers will look to bounce back at Colorado Christian and at Chadron State. Both scrappy squads represent formidable challenges as Mines looks to remain in contention for a RMAC title and a top-four seed in the conference tournament. Tipoff on Friday in Lakewood is slated for 5 p.m. with action in Nebraska beginning at 5:30 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans who aren't planning to go to Lakewood or Nebraska can still catch all the action. Live streaming of each contest will be offered free of charge on the RMAC Network. The RMAC Network can be loaded on your phone or downloaded on any smart TV/live streaming device by searching RMAC. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines played a single road game last weekend. It was a rematch with Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo. The Orediggers fell by a score of 74-47 after shooting just 25 percent from the field. Even so, Ashley Steffeck still produced 15 points, six steals, five rebounds, and two assists. Loralee Stock added 12 points as well. On the other side, the Mavericks shot 50 percent from the field and had nine three-pointers with four scoring in double digits. Last Friday's contest gave the Orediggers and CMU a split of the regular-season series after Mines downed the Mavericks in double overtime in Golden in December.
 
RISING IN THE RANKS
After recording six steals at Colorado Mesa, Ashley Steffeck rose into a tie for #19 in the NCAA Division II record book for career steals. Steffeck remains the active career steals leader in all of NCAA basketball – men's or women's across all three divisions. She touts 406 career swipes and owns nearly every steals record in Mines' record book. It should be noted that steals were not considered an official NCAA Division II category until the 1992-93 season.
 
STEFFECK STAT TRACKER
Ashley Steffeck now sits 84 points away from Mines' all-time scoring record which is currently held by Denali Pinto (2018-22). She needs 10 assists to break the Orediggers' career mark for dimes. That would drop Laura Tyree (2013-17) to #2. The Fort Collins, Colo., native is also 14 made free throws away from bringing down Pinto in that career category. She's also climbing multiple single-season lists in the program record book. Her 157 free throws in 2023-24 are five shy of the single-season record at Mines. The Fossil Ridge High School graduate needs just 117 points to own the Orediggers' single-season scoring record as well. Steffeck has plenty of additional milestones on the horizon and those will be celebrated as they come.
 
CONDENSED CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Two weeks remain in the 2023-24 regular season. As of Thursday, the top five teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings are separated by half a game. Regis and UCCS are tied for #1 at 15-4. Colorado Mesa, Colorado School of Mines, and Adams State are tied for #2 at 14-4. That brings the next four teams which are only two games apart. Black Hills State is currently alone at #6 with an 11-7 mark. Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo are tied for #7 at 10-8. Fort Lewis is #9 thanks to nine wins and nine losses. That makes nine teams vying for eight spots in the 2024 RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament, five teams shooting for a conference crown, and those five teams also competing for a top-four seed and hosting rights in the first round of the RMAC postseason. MSU Denver and South Dakota Mines remain mathematically alive at 6-12 and 5-13. Chadron State, Western Colorado, New Mexico Highlands, and Westminster have no path to the postseason.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Like Mines, Colorado Christian has four games remaining on its regular-season schedule, and the Cougars are fighting for their postseason lives. They are 14-10 (10-8 RMAC) and tied for #7 in the conference standings. That being said, CCU has won four of its last five including home wins against Chadron State and New Mexico Highlands and a road win at Western Colorado. The Cougars fell to CSU Pueblo last Friday, 79-70, in Lakewood. As a team, Colorado Christian's 77.2 free-throw percentage ranks #14 in the nation. Individually, the Cougars are led by Maggie Hutka who ranks #6 in the nation with 20.7 points per game. That's also #1 in the RMAC. No other CCU player averages double-digit scoring numbers. However, Dasiya Jones pulls down 8.0 rebounds per game, and Nicole Bowlin hands out 3.3 assists per game. Victoria Perez is right behind with 3.0 dimes each night. Colorado Christian averages 71.2 points per game and holds opponents to a 68.0 average.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE COUGARS
Mines and Colorado Christian played earlier this season. It was the first game of the new calendar year for both teams on Jan. 6 in Golden. The Orediggers earned an 80-73 victory at Lockridge Arena. Ashley Steffeck spearheaded the effort with 15 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and five steals. Shelby Nichols, Jenna Siebert, and Emma Sixta notched double-digit points as well. Maggie Hutka poured in 31 points for CCU. With the win, Mines improved to 40-23 in the all-time series against the Cougars. The Orediggers have taken nine straight from CCU. Mines' last loss to Colorado Christian was on Feb. 11, 2017 in Golden. The Orediggers haven't lost in Lakewood since 2014.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Chadron State has been mathematically eliminated from contention for a berth in the RMAC Tournament. Under the guidance of first-year Head Coach Travis Brewster, the Eagles sit 6-16 (4-14 RMAC) and tied for #12 in the conference standings. They'll face MSU Denver on Friday before playing Mines on Saturday. Losses to Colorado Christian, Western Colorado, New Mexico Highlands, and CSU Pueblo gives CSC a four-game skid headed into the weekend. The Eagles' last win was at home against South Dakota Mines on Feb. 3 by a score of 70-67. The highlight of Chadron State's season box score are 1.4 blocks per game from Awoti Akoi. Ashayla Powers leads the team in scoring thanks to 12.3 points per game. She also added 6.2 rebounds each night.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE EAGLES
Mines narrowly trails Chadron State in the all-time series between the Orediggers and Eagles. At 33-34, Mines could even the rivalry this weekend. The Orediggers have also taken six straight from CSC. Mines' last loss at the hands of Chadron State was a 76-73 decision in Chadron on Jan. 26, 2019. The Orediggers and Eagles last played on Feb. 18, 2023. Mines won the game in Golden, 100-62. Highlights from current Mines players include 14 points and three assists from Jenna Siebert, 11 points, four steals, and four assists from Josephine Howery, and seven assists off the hand of Ashley Steffeck. It marked the first time the Orediggers had dropped 100 points on the Eagles. Additionally, Miens has won nine of its last 10 meetings with Chadron State.
 
200 WINS
Mines' win against St. Edward's on opening weekend 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.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson is in 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 217-119 (64.5). 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).
 
UP NEXT
Mines will play the final weekend of the regular season at home. The Orediggers host Adams State on Friday, March 1, and will celebrate Senior Night during halftime of the men's game. Mines closes the regular season on Saturday against Fort Lewis. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. Free live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
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, "X" and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.