Mines (3-6, 1-1 RMAC) at Westminster (2-4, 0-2 RMAC) – Thursday, 5:30 p.m. – Salt Lake City [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (3-6, 1-1 RMAC) at #13 Colorado Mesa (10-1, 2-0 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Grand Junction, Colo. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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HEADED WEST
Mines women's basketball is headed west this week for a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference showdowns. The Orediggers' trip starts in Salt Lake City where they face Westminster on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Mines takes on #13 Colorado Mesa on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Grand Junction, Colo. The two contests mark the final conference action of the 2025 calendar, and the Orediggers will look to finish the year strong.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both matches this week will stream on the RMAC Network (pay-per-view). There are free live stats on Thursday and Saturday as well, 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.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster University is 2-4 overall and 0-2 in RMAC play so far in 2025. The Griffins will not play a game before Mines comes to town on Thursday. A 99-74 home victory against Alaska Fairbanks on Nov. 21 was WU's first win of the season. The Griffins made it two straight after downing Texas A&M-Kingsville, 54-46 on Nov. 22. Last week marked the start of conference play and Westminster went 0-2 with a 62-60 loss at CSU Pueblo and an 82-45 defeat at UCCS. Thus far, Teuila Nawahine is WU's star player. She averages 14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Emily Evans is also impressive with 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. As a team, Westminster sports a negative scoring margin. The Griffins average 64.2 points each contest while giving up 70.5 to the opposition.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE GRIFFINS
Mines leads the all-time series against Westminster, 10-6. The Orediggers bolstered that lead by winning five straight meetings from 2022-24. Last season, Mines split its two meetings with the Griffins. An 83-40 margin was the Orediggers' winning result on Golden on Dec. 16. Westminster defended its home court with a 78-76 win on February. Emma Sixta scored 20 points in the home victory and Jenna Shandy had 31 points in Salt Lake City. It is notable that Mines' 84-40 win against WU last season was the largest margin of victory in the history of the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
Colorado Mesa started the 2025-26 season as the defending RMAC champions, and the Mavericks have lived up to the moniker. They are currently 10-1 overall and 2-0 in RMAC play while sitting #13 in the national rankings. Three straight wins at a D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Canada provided a strong start for CMU. The Mavericks' lone loss so far was an 85-70 margin at West Texas A&M on Nov. 14. Since then, Colorado Mesa has run off seven straight victories including last week's 73-47 win at UCCS and a 78-43 victory at Colorado Christian. Like Westminster, CMU won't play a game before Mines comes to town on Saturday. Individually, defending RMAC Player of the Year Olivia Reed Thyne headlines a stacked Mavericks' roster. She's averaging 16.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game with four double-doubles on the season. Reed Thyne also ranks third in the nation in total rebounds. Running mate Mason Rowland is equally impressive with her game averages of 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. As a team, Colorado Mesa's positive coring margin of 21.4 ranks #10 in the nation.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE MAVERICKS
The all-time series between Mines and Colorado Mesa sits at 63-21 in favor of the Mavericks. The last two meetings have gone to CMU. That includes a 67-48 Oredigger loss in Golden last season. However, Mines sits 6-4 across its last 10 contests against the Mavericks. The Orediggers' last victory over CMU was a double-overtime thriller on Dec. 1, 2023, in Golden. The final score was 89-85. Four players for Mines scored in double figures including Jenna Shandy and Emma Sixta who combined for 31 points. The last time the Orediggers were victorious in Grand Junction was Dec. 2, 2022 when Mines toppled Colorado Mesa, 67-55.
 
CONFERENCE OPENERS
Like the rest of the league, Mines started its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference slate last week. The Orediggers hosted Adams State on Thursday and New Mexico Highlands on Friday. The final score against the Grizzlies was 75-68 in favor of the visitors. Sofia Baldessari was Mines' top player with 24 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Jade Leon added a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. On Saturday, the Orediggers rallied past NMHU for a 68-62 win. Mines trailed by 10 points at halftime, but a 44-point second half fueled the comeback. Baldessari added 19 more points with seven rebounds, two steals and one assist for the Orediggers. Leon produced a utilitarian line of eight points, eight rebounds, four steals, and five assists.
 
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 1,109 points with 22 games to play in her career.
 
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 has 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 on opening weekend and still has 24 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 #7 and tied for #17 for three-point field goals made in a season.
 
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 234-145 (.617). 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 takes a break from RMAC play and heads to Hawaii for the Hoops in Hawaii Classic Dec. 18-20. The Orediggers will play #25 Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 18 and Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 20. A fulle preview and love coverage information will be available next week 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.