DURANGO, Colo. – Sofia Baldessari scored 36 points for the Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team Thursday evening in an 86-83 loss at Fort Lewis.
 
Baldessari finished the night touting a game-high 36 points with 11 made field goals including six three-pointers while adding nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Emma Sixta, Jade Leon, and Jenna Shandy all scored in double figures as well and combined for 35 points. Sixta also handed out six assists and Emily Thomas had four assists. Two steals for Shandy and a block by Quincey Baum rounded out the highlights. Makaya Porter led the winning team with 24 points while Katie Lamb and Josie Davis added 20 and 17, respectively.
 
Mines (12-10, 7-4 RMAC) matched Fort Lewis (13-6, 6-5 RMAC), had more three-pointers and went 18-for-19 at the free-throw line. The Skyhawks made up the difference with 33 rebounds, 16 steals, and 19 assists. The home team also found advantages in the paint, off turnovers, on second-chance points, and bench points. The Orediggers retain a one-game lead on FLC in the RMAC standings and remain tied for fifth in the conference standings despite the loss.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Offense was the name of the game in the first half Thursday night. Each team tallied 24 points each in the first quarter. The second quarter featured a total of 53 points. By halftime, Mines owned a 52-49 lead thanks to Baldessari's 23 first-half points. After the intermission, the Orediggers scored eight points and Fort Lewis scored nine points. That margin provided Mines a 60-58 margin going into the fourth quarter. The last 10 minutes of game action saw Baldessari pour in 13 more points while Sixta scored 10. The Orediggers even shot over 60 percent in the period. However, the Skyhawks grabbed 21 rebounds compared to 12 by Mines. The home team finished with 28 points in the frame to pull out the win despite the Orediggers going 11-of-11 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines dropped to 28-38 in the all-time series against Fort Lewis, but the Orediggers are still 9-1 across the last 10 meetings with the Skyhawks.
- Baldessari's 36 points rank #5 in program history. The only Orediggers with more points than her in a single game are teammate Jenna Shandy, Taylor Helbig, and Denali Pinto. Baldessari also scored 45 against Nelson earlier this season.
- Baldessari now has four games featuring at least 30 points. Her six three-pointers Thursday were a career high.
- Madison Gage surpassed 200 career points. She also owns exactly 100 collegiate rebounds.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is now 244-149 in her 14th season leading the Orediggers.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces Adams State in Alamosa, Colo., on Saturday at 1 p.m. Live video will be available with a subscription to the RMAC Network and there will be free 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.