Box Score COLORADO SPRINGS – The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team bowed out of the 2024 RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round with a 71-65 loss to UCCS.
 
Mines' senior trio of Shelby Nichols, Ashley Steffeck, and Loralee Stock combined for 38 points. Nichols led the group with 15 points while pulling down eight rebounds, grabbing two steals, and dishing out one assist. Steffeck's line included nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Stock had one assist and one block. Also notable was a trio of three-pointers from Jessica Rios and two assists each from Josephine Howery and Jenna Siebert.
 
The Orediggers (21-8) were the #5 seed while UCCS (22-7) was the #4 seed and co-RMAC champions. Mines found its advantage at the free-throw line, shooting 83 percent on 24 attempts. The Mountain Lions only converted 66 percent of their free throws, but went 7-of-14 from behind the arc and shot 44 percent from the floor. The Orediggers committed 14 turnovers compared to 12 by UCCS, but won on the glass, 40-34. However, the home team found 48 points off its bench and scored 20 points on fast-break opportunities. A 32-24 advantage on points in the paint sealed the deal for UCCS.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After one quarter of play, Mines found itself facing a 25-9 deficit. Instead of going quietly into the night, the Orediggers stormed back into the game. Twenty six points in the second quarter played a huge part of the rally with Steffeck scoring seven and Rios adding six more. After the break, the visitors heated up even more, shooting 53 percent from the floor in the third quarter. That surge was fueled by Stock who scored nine points. Going into the final frame, Mines had come all the way back to lead, 58-57. A back-and-forth fourth quarter saw two ties and three lead changes. The Mountain Lions led for 4:06 and the Orediggers held the advantage for 3:47. There were no points scored by either team from 3:06 down to 18 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for Mines, UCCS scored the final six points and closed out the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 23-24 in the all-time series against UCCS.
- Tuesday marked the first time the Orediggers and Mountain Lions had ever met in the women's basketball postseason.
- Elsewhere in the bracket, CSU Pueblo upset top-seeded Colorado Mesa, Regis defeated Colorado Christian, and Adams State downed Black Hills State.
- Audrey Beaty went over 200 points for her collegiate career.
- Steffeck surpassed 100 assists for the 2023-24 season.
- Nichols made a career-high five free throws on Tuesday evening.
- Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson is now 219-122 in her 12th season at the helm for the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines will await the NCAA Selection Show slated for 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. The show will air at www.ncaa.com. If the Orediggers' name is called, they'll advance to the NCAA postseason. If their name is not called, the 2023-24 season will be over. All postseason updates will be posted at www.minesathletics.com and on social media.
 
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.­­­