LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Mines women's basketball opened its last road trip of the regular season on Friday with a 71-68 loss at Colorado Christian.
No player notched more points than
Ashley Steffeck's 23.
Emma Sixta added 15 points thanks to five three-pointers and 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.
Jenna Siebert tallied 10 points, three assists, and three steals. Also notable were six points, six rebounds, and three assists from
Loralee Stock.
Josephine Howery dished out three assists as well. Mines (19-6, 14-5 RMAC) shot over 41 percent from the floor and poured in nine three-pointers. Colorado Christian (15-10, 11-8 RMAC) converted at a 47-percent clip with just six three-pointers. In the end, the home team's 34 points in the paint were the difference.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines started the game shooting 50 percent from the floor during the first quarter. The opening frame ended with back-to-back steals from Siebert in the final minute. Those turnovers gave the Orediggers a modest 5-0 run. Sixta capped the surge with a three-pointer in the final seconds to give the visitors a 21-15 advantage. During the second quarter, CCU held Mines scoreless for more than four minutes as part of a 9-0 run for the home team. Sixta broke the silence right before halftime with another basket from the behind the arc. That helped send the Orediggers to the locker room with a 37-34 lead.
The third quarter was dominated by the Cougars who shot over 64 percent from the floor and nearly 70 percent from three-point range. Steffeck did her best to keep it close by scoring seven points in the period. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Mines found itself facing a 61-54 deficit. Steffeck accounted for seven of the Orediggers' 14 points in the final frame. Mines' defense also held CCU 0-of-6 from long range. However, the home team did just enough to hold on for the win while the Orediggers were 3-for-7 at the free-throw line down the stretch.
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 40-24 in the all-time series against Colorado Christian.
- The Orediggers are 9-1 across their last 10 meetings with the Cougars.
- Friday marked Mines' first loss to CCU since the 2016-17 season.
- With her three three-pointers at Colorado Christian,
Ashley Steffeck became the third player in program history with at least 200 made three-pointers in a career.
- Siebert moved over 400 career points and Stock surpassed the 500-point milestone.
- Stock also went over 200 rebounds in her time as an Oredigger.
- Sixta's five three-pointers marked a single-game high for the true freshman.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers take on Chadron State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Nebraska. There will be free live video on the RMAC Network and live stats linked 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.
