DENTON, Texas – The Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team opened its 2026-27 campaign Friday night with a 75-58 loss at #6-ranked Texas Woman's.
Sofia Baldessari's 22 points matched the game high, and she led all players with nine rebounds while adding two assists and a steal.
Jade Leon chipped in 17 points and two assists.
Madison Gage gave the visitors a trio of double-digit scorers by tallying 12 points. She pulled down seven rebounds and handed out two assists as well. Also notable were two blocks each by
Sammy Darnell and
Sophia Baal.
Mines (0-1) finished the game shooting just under 40 percent from the field including a similar mark from long range. Texas Woman's (4-0) converted 50 percent of its attempts from three-point range and 45 percent of its total shots. The Orediggers did outperform the Pioneers at the free-throw line with 12 makes on 18 attempts. However, the final difference was TWU forcing Mines into 18 turnovers while committing just nine of their own.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orediggers jumped ahead of their nationally-ranked hosts, 11-4, to start the game. That advantage included an administrative technical against TWU which gave Mines the lead before the game ever started. A late scoring drought for the visitors in the opening frame allowed the Pioneers to rally back and take a 22-15 lead into the first break. The momentum stayed with the home team in the second quarter where Mines was limited to just seven points. After halftime, the Orediggers exploded for 19 points in the third period and 17 more in the fourth. They also held Texas Woman's to single digits in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to make up the difference.
NOTABLES
- Mines and Texas Woman's have now met on the court six times with five of those contests taking place in Denton, Texas.
-
Izzy Johnston,
Lauren Thompson,
Sammy Darnell,
Janay Kravig, and
Tenley Bozeman all made their Oredigger debuts.
- It was also the first collegiate appearance for Johnston, Thompson, and Bozeman.
- Baldessari surpassed 300 career rebounds on Friday.
- Darnell's two blocks matched her career high.
- Gage's seven rebounds against TWU were also a career best.
- Head Coach
Brittany Simpson is now 246-157 in her 15th season leading the Orediggers.
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines faces UT Dallas on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT in Richardson, Texas.
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.
