GUNNISON, Colo. – Western Colorado used a 12-0 run in the last five minutes on Thursday night to hand the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team a 61-55 loss.
 
Jenna Siebert, once again, was the Orediggers' top performer. She turned in 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, one block, and one steal. Jade Leon and Peyton Freiermuth tallied eight points each. Audrey Beaty pulled down seven rebounds as well. In the end, Mines (8-13, 6-7 RMAC) shot just 36-percent from the floor and committed 14 turnovers. In comparison, Western Colorado (14-6, 9-4 RMAC) shot over 40 percent and only gave up 11 turnovers. Furthermore, the Orediggers only managed two three-pointers on 14 attempts. They did have more assists than the Mountaineers, but the home team converted a quartet of three-pointers to make up the difference.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mines struck first thanks to a Freiermuth layup, but Western Colorado built out a seven-point lead in the first quarter. By the first buzzer, the Mountaineers owned a 16-11 lead. The Orediggers surged in the second quarter, putting together a 10-0 run on the way to an eight-point lead. Siebert scored six of Mines' 23 points and carried her team into the break with a 34-29 advantage. The visitors held the lead from midway through the second quarter until there were 57 seconds remaining in the game. It was a 12-0 run spanning the final 5:28 that did Mines in. A key three-pointer at 4:27 in the fourth quarter halved the Oredigger lead. Then, a layup put WCU ahead. The Mountaineers made enough of their free throws to close out the win.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is still 8-2 in its last 10 meetings with Western Colorado.
- Freiermuth surpassed 100 points in her collegiate career on Thursday night.
- Josephine Howery tied Marissa Eichorn for #12 on the Orediggers' all-time list for made three-pointers.
- Olivia Lee matched her career high with three made free throws.
- Oredigger Head Coach Brittany Simpson is now 228-136 in her 13th season at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces Westminster on Saturday in Salt Lake City at 1 p.m. Free live stats and video on the RMAC Network will be available at www.minesathletics.com and on social media.
 
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.