Mines (4-10, 2-4 RMAC) vs. CSU Pueblo (11-3, 6-0 RMAC) – Thursday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (4-10, 2-4 RMAC) vs. Colorado Christian (3-11, 1-5 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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BACK AT HOME
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team will play its first home games of 2025 this Thursday and Saturday at Lockridge Arena. On Thursday, the Orediggers welcome CSU Pueblo to Golden for a 5:30 p.m. tip. Saturday brings Colorado Christian to "Where the West Lives" for a 1 p.m. start. Both nights are a basketball doubleheader with Mines' nationally-ranked men playing after the women, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Free live video of all Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, regular-season games will be offered on the RMAC Network. Conference tournament games will be pay-per-view come March. All of Mines' RMAC games, home and away, will also include free live stats as linked above, at www.minesathletics.com, and on social media.
 
NEW SCHEDULE FORMAT
During the offseason, the men's and women's head coaches in the RMAC decided to change the schedule format for conference play. The new setup features a majority of games on Thursdays and Saturdays. Travel-partner contests will take place earlier in the week. Thursday games will still take place in the evening. Saturday games have set tipoffs of 1 p.m. for the women and 3 p.m. for the men. The previous format featured action on Friday evenings and late Saturday afternoons.
 
ROAD TRIP RECAP
Last week, the Orediggers traveled to Chadron State on Thursday before heading to South Dakota Mines on Saturday. The results of the trip were mixed. On Thursday, Mines ground out a 55-45 victory against the Eagles in Nebraska. Jenna Siebert spearheaded the winning effort by providing 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Also notable were 13 points and nine rebounds from Josephine Howery along with 11 rebounds by Isa Hensley. Saturday in South Dakota featured a 17-point, second-half comeback by the Orediggers which was halted just short after two late free throws by SDM. The final score was 63-62 in favor of the Hardrockers. Siebert scored 31, Howery scored 13, and Emma Sixta had 11.
 
ELITE COMPANY
Jenna Siebert joined an elite club after her 31-point outburst at South Dakota Mines. That performance made her just the fifth player in program history to record multiple games of 30 points or more in a career. The only other players in Oredigger women's history to have multiple 30-point games in their respective careers are Denali Pinto, Ashley Steffeck, Mary Meager, and Angie Charchalis.
 
INTO THE RECORD BOOK
Jenna Siebert put her name in the program record book after her 34-point explosion against Minnesota State in November. She's now tied for fifth for points in a game in program history. The redshirt junior matched Courtney Martin's output at Chadron State from the 2014-15 season. Overall, Siebert is the 16th Oredigger to ever score 30 or more points in a single game. Her performance marked the 26th time that 30 or more points have been scored by a Mines player in a single game. The Orediggers with more points than Siebert in a single night are Taylor Helbig, Denali Pinto, Laura Marshall, and Ashley Steffeck.
 
DISHING DIMES
Peyton Freiermuth also put her name in the program record book against defending national champion Minnesota State. With 11 assists, she became the sixth Oredigger to ever dish out double-digit dimes in a single game. Freiermuth's performance tied her with Laura Tyree for third on Mines' all-time list. The only Orediggers with more assists than Freiermuth in a single game are Liz Holter and Debbie Gangloff.
 
SISTER-SISTER
The Orediggers' 2024-25 roster features sisters Michaela Lee and Olivia Lee. Michaela is in her second season at Mines. As a true freshman, she came off the bench and scored six points, grabbed eight rebounds, blocked four shots, and grabbed two steals in just 28 total minutes of action. Olivia is in her first, and only, season as an Oredigger. She started her collegiate career at Western New Mexico before transferring to Cal State San Bernardino after two seasons. The elder Lee completed her bachelor's degree at CSUSB and came to Mines to pursue a master's degree and play her final season of collegiate basketball. Prior to becoming an Oredigger, Olivia accumulated 462 points, 391 rebounds, 61 blocks, 35 assists, and 21 steals across 81 games.
 
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET
The Orediggers' non-conference schedule was challenging, to say the least. Mines' eight non-RMAC opponents brought a combined record of 84-27 into the new year and only one has a losing record. Four of those teams were nationally-ranked when they played the Orediggers including #6 MSU Billings, #1 Texas Woman's, #9 Minnesota State, and #12 Fort Hays State. The latest coaches' poll has Texas Woman's #2, MSU Billings #6, Fort Hays State #7, and Minnesota State #8.
 
SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball is tied for first in the RMAC standings at 6-0 and they tout the best overall record in the league at 11-3. As of Tuesday, the ThunderWolves had started receiving votes in the D2CSC media national poll. After starting the season 0-2 with losses to national powers Lubbock Christian and UT Tyler, CSU Pueblo dropped its fifth game of the season to Colorado Mesa in non-conference action. Since then, The Pack hasn't lost and touts an active win streak of nine. Last week, CSU Pueblo escaped Colorado Christian by a score of 66-63 before winning at UCCS by a score of 74-66. The ThunderWolves are led by national player of the year candidate Alisha Little. She's #1 in the nation in blocks, blocks per game, and double-doubles. Little is also #3 in the nation in free-throw attempts, points per game, and triple-doubles. Her averages come out to 24.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, 2.9 steals, and 1.4 assists per game. No other player averages double-digit scoring numbers, but Tomia Johnson does dish out 4.0 assists per game. Thus far, CSU Pueblo's is a narrow 2.3 points to the positive. They have a negative rebounding margin and a positive 0.9 turnover margin.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE THUNDERWOLVES
Colorado School of Mines trails CSU Pueblo in the all-time series by a 28-38 margin. However, the Orediggers have won their last two meetings with the ThunderWolves and eight out of the last 10. In one meeting last season, Mines downed The Pack, 61-45, in Pueblo. Jessica Rios led all players with 16 points. Josephine Howery scored 14 points as well. The last time CSU Pueblo defeated the Orediggers was March 4, 2022 by a score of 61-54 in Golden.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Colorado Christian is under the guidance of interim head coach Carissa Ratliff for the 2024-25 season. So far, she has guided the Cougars to a 3-11 record (1-5 RMAC). They play at MSU Denver on Thursday before coming to Golden on Saturday. Their wins have come against Missouri Western, Bethany College, and UCCS. Last week's slate included the victory over UCCS on Tuesday by a 71-59 margin. On Thursday, CCU almost knocked off CSU Pueblo in Pueblo, eventually losing 66-63. As a team, Colorado Christian ranks #4 in the nation in free-throw percentage. Individually, Maggie Hutka led the Cougars in four games by averaging 15.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest before transferring to NCAA Division I Montana. Nicole Bowlin and Victoria Perez have stepped up after her departure with 11.9 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Dasiya Jones also pulls down 9.1 rebounds per game and Bowlin dishes out 3.5 assists per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE COUGARS
Colorado School of Mines holds a 40-24 advantage in the all-time series against Colorado Christian. The Orediggers are also 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Cougars. Last season, Mines and CCU split the season series with each team defending its home court. The Orediggers earned an 80-73 victory in Golden on Jan. 6. Jenna Siebert and Emma Sixta combined to score 21 points in that contest. Colorado Christian won in Lakewood on Feb. 23, 71-68. There, Sixta and Siebert combined for 25 more points. The Orediggers haven't lost to the Cougars in Golden since 2017.
 
MEET TAYLOR HARRIS
The Mines coaching staff added a fresh face last spring with Taylor Harris taking over as assistant coach for the Orediggers. Harris, a 14-year veteran coach, came to the Orediggers after leading Fort Lewis' women's squad for three seasons. Other stops for the Colorado native include Miles Community College (Mont.), and 10 years of service at fellow RMAC programs in Regis and MSU Denver. Fans can check out Harris' full biography HERE.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson is in her 13th season leading the Mines women's basketball program. During her decade-plus tenure, she has become the winningest coach in program history both in terms of total wins and win percentage at 223-133 (62.6). 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 five of their six trips to the NCAA tournament. Simpson is a three-time RMAC Coach of the Year who has guided 36 All-RMAC selections including 15 first-teamers, 11 second-teamers, one third-team selection and nine 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.
 
UP NEXT
The Orediggers host MSU Denver next Thursday, Jan. 23, at 5:30 p.m. before going to Regis on Saturday, Jan. 25, for a 1 p.m. contest. Both games will have free live video on the RMAC Network and live stats at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's basketball on "X" (formerly Twitter), Facebook, 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.