Mines (12-11, 7-5 RMAC) vs. Western Colorado (10-8, 8-4 RMAC) – Thursday, 5:30 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]
Mines (12-11, 7-5 RMAC) vs. Westminster (5-13, 2-10 RMAC) – Saturday, 1 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [RMAC Network]

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PACKED WEEK AT HOME
It's a full week for the Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team. The Orediggers host Western Colorado on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Westminster on Saturday at 1 p.m. In addition to the games, there are multiple celebrations, recognitions, and events at both contests. Thursday features Professor Appreciation night with a public, on-court recognition of faculty at Mines. Saturday marks the second annual Green Game which honors Head Coach Brittany Simpson's late sister and raises money for the Mines Student Emergency Fund. The Oredigger band, cheer team, and dance team, will be out in full force to support both teams each day as well.
 
FAN ADVISORY
For those planning to attend Saturday's basketball games against Westminster, please keep in mind the annual Goldens In Golden event will be taking place with Washington street closing at 8 a.m. and the event lasting until until 1 p.m. in downtown. While on-campus parking is not expected to be impacted by the event, for travel considerations fans are encouraged to avoid the downtown area and instead arrive on campus from the west using Highway 6 to 19th Street before turning onto Elm Street. For more information about Goldens In Golden, please click here.
 
GREEN GAME
Saturday marks Mines' second annual Green Game. The event calls for all fans to join both Oredigger squads and staff in wearing green and to consider a donation to the Student Emergency Fund. Green is not one of Mines' official colors, but it's a special occasion. The games against Westminster will honor Head Coach Brittany Simpson's late sister Annie who tragically passed away nearly two years ago. 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.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS
Fans planning to attend the games are encouraged to purchase digital tickets online in advance at tickets.minesthletics.com. Tickets are available at the door if needed. Mines students and employees can access their free tickets by logging in with their Mines SSO. Blaster Card scanning no longer works to get into any Oredigger home game. Additionally, one ticket each day covers both the women and women in the basketball doubleheader.
 
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.
 
LOOKING BACK
Last week, Mines took a heartbreaking, 86-83 loss at Fort Lewis on Thursday before falling at Adams State, 80-70, on Saturday. Sofia Baldessari went for 36 points against the Skyhawks including 23 in the first half. She added nine rebounds, one assist, and one steal as well. Emma Sixta, Jade Leon, and Jenna Shandy also scored in double figures while Sixta and Emily Thomas combined for 10 assists. Saturday featured a 16-point, 8-rebound outburst from Jenna Shandy which also included three assists. Sixta struck again with 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Baldessari scored 10 and handed out five assists. Quincey Baum added six points, five rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
 
COLORADO CHRONICLE RECOGNIZES BALDESSARI
The Colorado Collegiate Chronicle recognized Sofia Baldessari earlier this week as the Top Colorado Prep Product for the month of January. Baldessari's recognition was attributed to her record-breaking scoring performance against Nelson along with three additional 30-point games. Her averages for the month were 25.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Other honorees included Olivia Reed Tyne from Colorado Mesa as the women's most outstanding player in January and Rayna Welsch from Colorado College as the top women's freshman for the month.
 
SCOUTING WESTERN COLORADO
Western Colorado's women are currently tied for fourth in the conference standings thanks to a record of 10-8 (8-4 RMAC). The Mountaineers are just one game ahead of the Orediggers. They started the season .500 through six games, but as of late have won four of their last five games. Conference losses were to Colorado Christian, New Mexico Highlands, Colorado Mesa, and UCCS. The loss to UCCS was last Thursday in overtime at home by a score of 85-77. Last Saturday brought a bounce back, 77-67 home victory against Colorado Christian. As a team, WCU ranks #1 in all of NCAA Division II in three-point percentage. That's fueled individually by Jayda Maves who shoots 50 percent from long range. That production provides Maves 13.8 points per game. Ivey Schmidt leads the entire team thanks to averages of 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Also notable are Alyssa Eckroth's 12.7 points per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS
The all-time series between Mines and Western Colorado includes 72 games. The Mountaineers have won 39 of those games and the Orediggers have won 33. Mines took eight straight from 2021-24 and sits 8-2 across the last 10 meetings. The Orediggers played WCU once last season and lost, 61-55, in Gunnison, Colo. Jenna Shandy was Mines' leading scorer in that game with 12 points while adding five assists. The last time the Orediggers beat Western Colorado was Jan. 26, 2024, in Golden. Shandy's 22 points in that contest afforded Mines a 76-68 decision. The last time the Mountaineers won in Golden was Dec. 18, 2020.
 
SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster is 5-13 (2-10 RMAC) with eight games left to play. The Griffins knocked off Alaksa Fairbanks and Texas A&M-Kingsville at the start of the season. However, they started conference play 0-8 before taking down Chadron State in Utah, 83-52. Last weekend, WU lost to Colorado Christian, 81-71, and CSU Pueblo, 83-79, with both games at home. Ellie Mitchell leads a trio of Griffins averaging double-digit scoring with her 13.5 points per game. Teuila Nawahine averages 12.5 points per game and Madison Anderson puts up 11.7 points per night. Anderson also had 20 blocks on the season and averages 7.6 rebounds per game. Nawahine coordinates the offense by way of 3.6 assists per game.
 
OREDIGGERS AGAINST THE GRIFFINS
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.
 
UNCOMMON
Sofia Baldessari is in her first season as an Oredigger. She has played in 19 of Mines' 23 games so far and leads the team with 369 points. Over the last 26 years, since the turn of the century, only three other players have surpassed 300 points in their first season as an Oredigger. Denali Pinto scored 384 as a true freshman during the 2018-19 campaign. The season before, in 2017-18, Nicole Archambeau poured in 355 after playing two seasons at Colorado Mesa. Iva Tomova, a transfer from Northeastern Junior College, went for 399 during the 2005-06 season.  Those three names, Archambeau, Pinto, and Tomova, appear a total of 39 times in the program record book. For further context, 14 different players have scored over 1,000 career points at Mines. That catalog includes the likes of Ashley Steffeck, Ashley Gronewoller, Angie Charchalis, and more. Pinto is the only player on that list who went over 300 points in her first year as an Oredigger.
 
JENNA SHANDY
Jenna Shandy continues to climb the all-time rankings in the program record book. On opening weekend, she surpassed 1,000 career points and was officially honored with a commemorative ball prior to tipoff against Northern New Mexico on Jan. 3. With eight games remaining in the regular season, Shandy now boasts 1,267 points which ranks #8 in program history. She's just six points shy of tying Brecca Gaffney at #7. Additionally, Shandy has drained 180 three-pointers in her career which is #6 in program history and sits two short of Cassidy Budge's 182 made three-pointers. Furthermore, Shandy now boasts 233 career assists and ranks #11 in the Mines record book. She needs 11 assists to surpass Cathy Dingwall at #10.
 
MORE SHANDY
Many fans know her as Jenna Siebert, but now they'll know her as Jenna Shandy. In the midst of her final season, Shandy has made her mark as one of Mines' most prolific scorers – ever. To start, she surpassed 1,000 points for her career on opening weekend of the 2025-26 season. Last year, the Valor Christian High School graduate broke the program's single-game scoring record by dropping 40 points on Chadron State in just 28 minutes of action at Lockridge Arena. A record toppled by teammate Sofia Baldessari this season. That performance was one of five for Shandy featuring 30 points or more in single game – tied for first in program history with Denali Pinto and Ashley Steffeck. Shandy's 547 points in 2024-25 are #3 in program history and her 19.5 points per game rank #2 for season scoring average in program history. Furthermore, the mechanical engineering major broke the Oredigger women's season record with 203 made field goals – a record that had stood since the 1985-86 season. Shandy is also #7 and tied for #17 for three-point field goals made in a season.
 
BALDESSARI BREAKS RECORD
Sophomore forward Sofia Baldessari broke the program's single-game scoring record on Friday, Jan. 2, against Nelson. She torched the Warriors for 45 points inside Lockridge Arena. The previous record was 40 points set by teammate Jenna Shandy at home against Chadron State last season. That performance made Baldessari the first Oredigger woman to ever go over 40 points in a single game. Her 45 points are also tied for #4 in RMAC history and were #1 in NCAA Division II for the season at the time. That total now ranks #2 in DII this season. She accomplished the feat in just 26 minutes of action while going 4-for-9 from three-point range, 16-of-23 from the floor, and 9-for-10 at the free-throw line. She had a career-high five steals as well. Also notable in the same game were seven assists for Shandy – six of which were to Baldessari.
 
MORE BALDESSARI
In the midst of her second collegiate season and first campaign with the Orediggers, Sofia Baldessari is already making program history. As referenced above, the sophomore who started her career at College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota has already broken Mines' single-game scoring record. Furthermore, Baldessari's 30 points at Colorado Christian made her the sixth Oredigger woman to record multiple games of 30 points or more. Another 30-point outburst against MSU Denver marked her third game of 30 points or more this season. Then, 36 more points at Fort Lewis made it back-to-back 30-point games. The other five players who have accomplished the same feat are Jenna Shandy, Ashley Steffeck, Denali Pinto, Angie Charchalis, and Mary Meager. Through 23 games, Baldessari ranks #2 in the RMAC in scoring, #4 in rebounding, #4 in free-throw percentage, #10 in field-goal percentage, and #7 in made three-pointers per game.
 
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 243-150 (.621). 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 goes to Black Hills State next Thursday and Chadron State on Saturday. 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.