Mines (8-14, 6-8 RMAC) vs. Black Hills State (14-7, 10-4 RMAC) – Thursday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (8-14, 6-8 RMAC) vs. Chadron State (4-16, 3-11 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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DOWN THE STRETCH
Six games remain in the regular season for the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team with three at home. The Orediggers will play two of those home games this week with Black Hills State in town on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. contest, and Chadron State on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. With BHSU near the top of the conference standings and CSC near the bottom, Mines will look for one way or another to break its three-game skid and remain in contention for the conference postseason.
 
WEAR GREEN & GIVE GAME
For Saturday's game against Chadron State, Mines women's basketball is asking all fans to wear green and consider a donation to the Student Emergency Fund. No, green is not one of the Orediggers' official colors, but it's a special occasion. Saturday's game is in honor of Head Coach Brittany Simpson's late sister Annie who tragically passed away early last year. Annie's favorite color was green and she dedicated her life to those in the midst of emergencies. Any amount and any shade of green would be extremely meaningful to Coach Simpson, her family, and the memory of Annie. Click here for more information on the Mines Student Emergency Fund.
 
HOW TO GET YOUR TICKETS
Earlier this month, Mines Athletics launched a new online ticketing platform at tickets.minesathletics.com. With the new portal through Vivenu comes change as well. The biggest change is for Mines faculty, staff, students. Tapping your BlasterCard at the gate will no longer work and tickets must be reserved in advance. To do so, visit tickets.minesathletics.com and click Sign In, then log in with your Mines SSO. Shop for your tickets, and on check out you'll have the option to select either a Mines Student or Mines Fac/Staff ticket. Then scan your ticket at the gate and cheer on the Orediggers! General fans can still purchase tickets in similar fashion as before, just at a new link.
 
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.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Black Hills State is once again a force to be reckoned with in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Yellow Jackets are 14-7 overall and 10-4 in RMAC play. That mark has them tied for #2 in the league standings. Thursday will bring BHSU to Golden, Colo., riding a three-game win streak. The Yellow Jackets started February with a double-digit home win against South Dakota Mines before toppling CSU Pueblo and UCCS last week. Prior to that, the Spearfish squad had lost three straight to Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado, and Chadron State. Their other RMAC loss came at the hands of New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas. As a team, Black Hills State ranks #8 in the nation in fewest fouls per game, #5 in fewest turnovers per game, and #29 in assist-to-turnover ratio. The Yello Jacket quartet of Kalla Bertram, Haylee Weathersby, Bradie Schlabs, and Morgan Hammerbeck fuel the team's success. Bertram averages 13.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. Weathersby's highlights include 12.9 points and 6.4 rebounds each night. Schlabs puts up 12.1 points, grabs 6.0 rebounds, and dishes out 4.3 assists per game. Hammerbeck also scores in double digits with 11.8 points complimented by 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS
Mines leads the all-time series against Black Hills State, 11-9. The Orediggers are 7-4 at home against BHSU and 4-5 on the road. They are also 6-4 across the last 10 meetings. Two clashes last year were split. Mines won in Spearfish, S.D., 87-71, thanks to Jenna Siebert's 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one block. The Yellow Jackets found victory in Golden by way of a 69-61 margin. Siebert scored 13 points and Josephine Howery handed out eight assists in that contest.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Chadron State hasn't quite been mathematically eliminated from the postseason, but the Eagles are close. They sit 4-16 overall with a 3-11 RMAC record. Last week, CSC fell in overtime against Colorado Christian and then lost by nine to CSU Pueblo. The Eagles did close January with a double-digit win over Black Hills State. Their other conference victories include Westminster and South Dakota Mines. All four of Chadron State's wins have come at home. The Nebraska squad is 0-7 on the road. Free-throw shooting is CSC's biggest strength as a team, ranking #9 in the nation in free-throw percentage. Individually, Kylie Krise, Allison Richards, and Ashayla Powers all hover just below 11.0 points per game. Powers also grabs 5.8 rebounds per game and Kyra Tanabe averages 2.9 assists.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE EAGLES
Earlier this season, Mines escaped from Chadron, Neb., with a 55-45 victory. It provided the Orediggers a 35-34 edge in the all-time series and extended their win streak against CSC to eight. Jenna Siebert powered the victory with 23 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Josephine Howery added 13 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Mines hasn't lost to Chadron State since Jan. 26, 2019. The Orediggers haven't lost to the Eagles in Golden, Colo., since 2012.
 
ROAD TRIP RECAP
Last week, Mines went on the road and suffered two frustrating losses. Thursday brought a 61-55 decision at Western Colorado. The Orediggers led going into the fourth quarter, but couldn't score in the last 5:42 of the game. Jenna Siebert finished with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal. Audrey Beaty had seven rebounds. Saturday saw the Orediggers stage a fourth-quarter comeback at Westminster with multiple opportunities to tie the game or send it to overtime. In the end, Mines fell by a score of 78-76 despite 31 points from Siebert and 20 off the hand of Peyton Freiermuth.
 
ELITE COMPANY
Jenna Siebert joined an elite club after a 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 and Ashley Steffeck.
 
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.
 
LEVELING UP
After joining an elite Oredigger club earlier this season (see five sections below), Jenna Siebert leveled up her status in Mines history thanks to 31 points at MSU Denver last month. First of all, the outburst included 17 points in the third quarter alone which drove the Orediggers to victory. However, it also marked the third game of Siebert's career with more than 30 points. Now, the only players in program history with more games of 30-plus points are Ashley Steffeck and Denali Pinto. That duo ranks #1 and #2 in all-time scoring at Mines.
 
FROM DOWNTOWN
If you haven't heard enough about Jenna Siebert's accomplishments this season, we have you covered. In addition to everything already mentioned, Siebert also entered the program record book for career made three-pointers. She now touts 121 which puts her #9 in Mines history. She moved past Stephanie Fogle who had 119 from 2008-12. Peanut Eickelman is #8 with 133 from 2005-09.
 
DISHING DIMES
Josephine Howery and Peyton Freiermuth have both put their names in the program record book this season as well. Freiermuth did it after handing out 11 assists against defending national champion Minnesota State. 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. For Howery, it's been the long game. She moved up to #10 on Mines' all-time assists list. Howery has handed out 234 helpers which pushed her past Mariss Eichhorn (1998-02). Cathy Dingwall is #9 with 243 from 1982-86.
 
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.
 
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 227-137 (62.3). 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 play at MSU Denver on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. They'll host Regis for Rock the Lock and Senior Day on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. Free live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be offered for both games 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.