Mines (1-4) at #8 Minnesota State (4-0) – Friday, 6 p.m. CT – Mankato, Minn. [Live Stats] [NSIC Network]
Mines (1-4) vs. Rogers State (0-3) – Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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ROUND TRIP
The next two games for Mines women's basketball make a round trip for the Orediggers as they head to #8 Minnesota State on Friday before coming home to host Rogers State on Tuesday. Friday's tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT. Tuesday's pre-Thanksgiving action will begin at 5:30 p.m. Mines enters the weekend looking to build on the momentum after getting its first win of the season last Saturday.
 
NO TICKETS NEEDED
Tuesday's game against Rogers State will be a Blaster's Basket game. This means fans don't need to purchase tickets. However, they are strongly encouraged to make a monetary donation to Blaster's Basket or bring a non-perishable food item to donate. Blaster's Basket is the food pantry on campus that provides non-perishable food, toiletries and basic school supplies to Oredigger students in need – no questions asked.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Friday's contest at Minnesota State will stream live and for free on the NSIC Network. Live video of Tuesday's home game will be available with a subscription to the RMAC Network. Both games will have free live stats which are linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
This fall, the RMAC Network moved to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
 
HOME OPENERS
The Orediggers played their first home games of the season last weekend. On Friday, Mines ran up against #3-ranked Texas Woman's and the Pioneers seemingly couldn't miss a shot. They converted over 60-percent of their attempts from the floor and won, 80-55. Sophia Baal scored 14 points and had three blocks. Quincey Baum grabbed seven rebounds. Saturday was a different story as the Orediggers hosted UT Dallas. Mines rode Sofia Baldessari's 23 points and eight rebounds to a 67-56 victory – the first of the season for the Orediggers. Also notable in the win were 12 points from Emma Sixta and 10 points from Olivia Campbell.
 
SCOUTING MINNESOTA STATE
Minnesota State hosted a NCAA regional last season and won the national championship the year before. This season, the Mavericks are ranked eighth in the nation and welcome Mines to Mankato with a 4-0 record. All but one of MSU's victories have come by at least 30 points. The Mavericks have defeated Edinboro, California (Pa.), Union (Tenn.), and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (DIII). As a team, Minnesota State is #1 in the nation in assists per game and bench points per game. They're also #2 in scoring offense, steals per game, and turnovers forced per game. Natalie Bremer is the leading scorer thanks to 17.5 points per game. Ava Stier averages 4.5 rebounds per game. Haylee Stokes' 3.0 assists each night and 2.8 steals per game from Hannah Herzig also lead the team.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE MAVERICKS
Mines and Minnesota State have played twice. The Mavericks won the first-ever meeting on Nov. 25, 2006, in Omaha, Neb., by a score of 61-55. Last year, MSU came to Golden and suffered a 92-88 defeat at the hands of the Orediggers. In that game, Jenna Shandy scored 34 points and handed out five assists, while Jade Leon posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. That victory makes Mines 1-1 in the all-time series against Minnesota State.
 
SCOUTING ROGERS STATE
Rogers State is currently 0-3 on the year, but play Ozark Christian on Friday and travel to Regis in Denver on Monday. The Hillcats losses so far have all come by double digits to Southwestern Oklahoma State, Oklahoma Baptist, and East Central. Ataya Casaus leads the team in scoring and assists with 10.3 points and 2.0 assists per game. Samantha Shanks is tops on the glass thanks to 6.7 boards each night. Also worth mentioning is Casuaus 100-percent free-throw rate. She's 8-of-8 from the charity stripe so far this season.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE HILLCATS
Friday marks the first-ever meeting between Mines' women and Rogers State.
 
SHANDY HITS MILESTONE
Jenna Shandy (née Siebert) entered her final college season needing just two points to reach 1,000 for her career. She scored those two points late in the first quarter during Mines' season opener against #20 UT Tyler on Friday, Nov. 7. Shandy finished that game with nine points, dropped 20 on Nebraska-Kearney the next night, and finished the trip to Billings, Mont., by scoring 12 against the Yellow Jackets. Shandy now boasts 1,052 career points with 26 games to play in the regular season.
 
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Orediggers' 2025-26 roster includes 11 players. Five are returners from Mines' 2024-25 squad. There are also two true freshmen and four transfers. Despite a large percentage of fresh faces, Head Coach Brittany Simpson brings back her top-two scorers from last season and the two players with the most steals for the Orediggers in 2024-25.
 
THE VETERANS
Mines' returners include sophomores Lindsey Jones and Jade Leon, junior Emma Sixta, and redshirt seniors Jenna Shandy (née Siebert) and Quincey Baum.  Shandy and Sixta were the Orediggers' leading scorers in 2024-25, averaging 19.5 points and 10.5 points per game, respectively. The duo of Sixta and Shandy also combined for 78 steals last year. Baum, in her sixth year with the program, sat out her initial redshirt-senior campaign with an injury. Jones and Leon both provided big minutes off the bench and should see an expanded role in 2025-26.
 
MEET THE FRESHMEN
Olivia Campbell and Sophia Baal are the two true freshmen for the Orediggers. Campbell played at Fruita Monument High School just west of Grand Junction, Colo. She averaged 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals per game, and was First-Team All-Conference four times and Honorable Mention All-State three times. Baal, a graduate of Cherry Creek High School, also played club basketball for Hardwood Elite and competed in flag football. In fact, Baal helped represent CCHS and the state of Colorado at the NFL's 2025 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando, Fla., as the Cherry Creek flag football squad competed in the first-ever NFL Flag High School Girls Showcase. She was named the MVP at the NFL event.
 
TRANSFER QUARTET
Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson further bolstered her roster during the offseason with the addition of four transfers, as noted above. Liv Loveland, a Castle Rock, Colo., native, came back to Colorado after playing one season at NCAA Division I Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She played in six games for the Cougars including her collegiate debut against Murray State. Madison Gage, a Legacy High School graduate, committed to the Orediggers following two seasons at Chaminade (DII) in Hawaii. Gage's time with the Swords included 155 points, 84 rebounds, 18 assists, 19 steals, and four blocks. She dropped 17 points on Evergreen State as a true freshman and decided to return to Colorado following a coaching change made by the Chaminade administration. Emily Thomas, another Colorado product, returned to her home state after two seasons at RMAC foe South Dakota Mines. Following an injury-shortened freshman season and a coaching change after, Thomas arrives in Golden touting 103 points, 127 rebounds, 25 steals, eight blocks, and 77 assists. Rounding out the quartet is Sofia Baldessari who graduated from Douglas County High School in Colorado before starting her post-prep career at College of Saint Benedict (DIII) in Minnesota. In 12 games as a true freshman, Baldessari collected 102 points, 77 rebounds, six assists, eight steals, and two blocks.
 
JENNA SHANDY (NÉE SIEBERT)
Many fans know her as Jenna Siebert, but now they'll know her as Jenna Shandy. With one season of eligibility remaining, Shandy has made her mark as one of Mines' most prolific scorers – ever. To start, she surpassed 1,000 points for her career last weekend and still has 28 games to play. Last season, the Valor Christian High School graduate broke the program's single-game scoring record by dropping 40 points on Chadron State in just 28 minutes of action at Lockridge Arena. That performance was one of five featuring 30 points or more in single game – tied for first in program history with Denali Pinto and Ashley Steffeck. Shandy's 547 points in 2024-25 are #3 in program history and her 19.5 points per game rank #2 for season scoring average in program history. Furthermore, the mechanical engineering major broke the Oredigger women's season record with 203 made field goals – a record that had stood since the 1985-86 season. Shandy is also tied for #8 and tied for #17 for three-point field goals made in a season.
 
SCHEDULE SNAPSHOT
Mines' 2025-26 regular-season schedule features 31 games including 11 non-conference contests, a trip to Hawaii, 20 RMAC showdowns, and 15 games at Lockridge Arena. Ten of the games in Golden are part of the RMAC slate. There will also be one home game the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and two other home events just days after the calendar turns to 2026. Home opponents for the Orediggers include #3 Texas Woman's (Nov. 14), UT Dallas (Nov. 15), Rogers State (Nov. 25), Adams State (Dec. 4), New Mexico Highlands (Dec. 6), Nelson University (Jan. 2), Northern New Mexico (Jan. 3), Chadron State (Jan. 8), South Dakota Mines (Jan. 10), MSU Denver (Jan. 24), Western Colorado (Feb. 5), Westminster (Feb. 7), UCCS (Feb. 19), CSU Pueblo (Feb. 21), and Regis (Feb. 24). Four different opponents on Mines' schedule are ranked in the top-25 of the national preseason poll.
 
BOSS LADY
Head Coach Brittany Simpson is in her 14th 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 232-143 (.619). 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 37 All-RMAC selections including 16 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
Mines will take the Thanksgiving Holiday off from competition. They return to action with the start of RMAC play at home on Dec. 4 and Dec. 6.
 
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.