Mines (12-13, 7-7 RMAC) at Black Hills State (13-8, 10-4 RMAC) – Thursday, 5 p.m. – Spearfish, S.D. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (12-13, 7-7 RMAC) at Chadron State (1-18, 1-13 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Chadron, Neb. [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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DOWN THE STRETCH
With three weeks to play in the regular season, the Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team is taking its last true road trip of the season. The Orediggers head to Black Hills State for a Thursday tipoff at 5 p.m. Saturday brings Mines to Chadron State for a rematch at 1 p.m. The next three weeks include a total of six conference contests, making each game critical for the Orediggers if they want to punch a ticket to the RMAC tournament.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Fans can watch this week's action with a subscription to the RMAC Network. There will also be free live stats linked above and at www.minesathletics.com.
 
RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
During the 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.
 
LAST WEEK
Mines hosted Western Colorado for Professor Appreciation Night last Thursday and then welcomed Westminster to Lockridge Arena for the second annual Green Game. Thursday's result was a 73-64 loss to the Mountaineers. Sofia Baldessari and Jenna Shandy combined for 40 points in that game. Saturday's game saw the Orediggers drop a 73-69 decision to the Griffins. Baldessari lit up the scoreboard and the box score with a 28-point, 11-rebound double-double. Emma Sixta and Emily Thomas combined to block seven shots.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
At 13-8 (10-4 RMAC), Black Hills State is in the hunt to be a top-four seed and host a first-round game in the conference tournament. The Yellow Jackets beat CSU Pueblo in Pueblo, Colo., by a score of 60-48 last Thursday. Saturday brought a 73-70 road loss at UCCS. Addison Branscum leads a balanced offense with her 11.0 points per game. Bradie Schlabs chips in 10.1 points per game. Schlabs also ranks #8 in the nation in assists per game at 5.3. Sawyer Stoebner and Audrey Norville lead a rebounding effort that ranks #3 in the nation in rebounds per game and rebounding margin. That duo combined to pull down over 12.0 rebounds per night.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS
Mines and Black Hills State have played 21 times in women's basketball, and the Orediggers lead the all-time series 12-9. That margin is fueled by a 7-3 mark across the last 10 meetings. Last year featured just one showdown between Mines and BHSU. The Orediggers pulled out a narrow, 51-49 victory in Golden thanks to 25 combined points off the hands of Emma Sixta and Jenna Shandy. The last time Mines lost in Spearfish, S.D., was a 73-71, overtime thriller in 2021.
 
SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
Chadron State's women are 1-18 (1-13 RMAC) on the year. Technically, the Eagles haven't been mathematically eliminated from the postseason, but one more loss will do just that. The lone win for CSC so far in 2025-26 was at Regis on Jan. 10. The Eagles ran away with a 68-53 victory. Last weekend, Chadron State lost on the road at Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo. Both margins were at least 20 points. Audrey Quintana is CSC's leading scorer thanks to an average of 9.9 points per game. McKenzi Peterson leads on the glass with her 4.8 rebounds per game. Kenna Wagner hands out 2.9 assists and grabs 1.5 steals per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE EAGLES
Mines is 11-6 all time against Westminster. The Orediggers defeated the Griffins, 78-62, earlier this season in Salt Lake City. That win featured 24 points from Sofia Baldessari, 17 off the hand of Jenna Shandy, and 22 combined by Emma Sixta and Sophia Baal. Baldessari also pulled down 13 rebounds and handed out three assists. Westminster grabbed a win off Mines last season, 78-76, in Utah. However, the Orediggers still sit 8-2 across their last 10 meetings with WU. Westminster's last win in Golden was Feb. 19, 2021, by a score of 67-62.
 
RECORD BOOK UPDATE
Multiple Orediggers have already been making record book edits this season. Jenna Shandy has climbed to #5 on the all-time list for made three-pointers. She's also #7 in career scoring, #11 in career assists, and #16 in single-season three-pointers. Emma Sixta owns the #13 spot on the list for career three-pointers. Additionally, Sofia Baldessari now has 423 points in her first season at Mines. That's more points than other player in their first season as an Oredigger since the year 2000. She's just 14 points away from cracking the single-season top-10 list at Mines. Baldessari also ranks #18 in single-season three-pointers and #9 in single-season free throws made. Furthermore, Baldessari broke the program's single-game scoring record with 45 points against Nelson and has three additional games of at least 30 points.
 
SOFIA BALDESSARI
In addition to overhauling Mines' record book, Sofia Baldessari is making her name known across the RMAC. With six games to play in the regular season, Baldessari ranks #2 in the league in scoring thanks to 20.1 points per game. She's #4 in rebounding with 7.9 boards per game. The sophomore is also #1 in free-throw percentage, #9 in three-pointers per game, #10 in three-point percentage and #11 in field-goal percentage among qualifying players. Finally, despite missing the first three games of the season, Baldessari ranks #11 in the nation in points per game and #20 in total points.
 
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.
 
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 243-152 (.615). 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. Nine of Mines' 14 1,000-point scorers have surpassed the milestone under Simpson's watch.
 
UP NEXT
Mines hosts UCCS on Feb. 19 and CSU Pueblo on Feb. 21. Free live stats will be available, as well as live video with a subscription to the RMAC Network.
 
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.