Mines (6-6, 3-4 RMAC) at Adams State (1-10, 1-6 RMAC) – Friday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (6-6, 3-4 RMAC) at Fort Lewis (6-7, 2-5 RMAC) – Saturday, 5:30 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 
ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and RMAC road game can be seen live and for free on the RMAC Network at minesathletics.com/tv. The RMAC Network can also be found on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices by going to the app store and searching "RMAC".
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After a pair of home games to kick off 2019, the Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team takes to the road Friday and Saturday as they head to Alamosa and Durango to face in-state rivals Adams State and Fort Lewis. The Orediggers are .500 overall and just two games out of the RMAC Tournament field. A pair of wins against comparable opponents would be huge for Mines, but both teams present challenges on their home courts that can't be taken lightly.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines split its first weekend of 2019 with a 50-61 loss to Westminster Friday followed by an 86-81 victory over Dixie State Saturday. Raven Herrera led the Orediggers against the Griffins with 16 points and seven rebounds. Denali Pinto was the star against the Trailblazers, scoring 24 points while grabbing six rebounds and adding a block and an assist. Nicole Archambeau was stalwart as she averaged a 16.5-point, 10-rebound double-double on the weekend. As a team, Mines' defense came up huge against Dixie State with 15 total steals – the most in a single game for the Orediggers dating back more than a decade.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State journeys north with just one win to its name at 1-10 overall and 1-6 in conference play. However, don't let just one win fool you. The Grizzlies have limited their opponents to an average of 65 points per game and cracked the 70-point threshold multiple times this season. With a positive assist-to-turnover ratio and an average of 7.3 steals per game, ASU cannot be ignored. Stephanie Ruiz is the individual star, averaging 14.0 points per game. Ki'asha handles the boards with 5.9 rebounds per game and Marshell Hollins run the offense with 28 assists on the year. As a team, Adams State's top statistic is its 72.8 free-throw percentage which ranks #62 in all of NCAA Division II.
 
GRRRRRRRIZZLIES
Adams State Athletics currently carries the nickname Grizzlies which refers to a large population of brown bear in North America. Scientists prefer the term North American brown bear over grizzly. The term is originally tied to explorers Lewis and Clark who first described the creature as grisly which transformed to grizzly in reference to the mammal's golden and grey tips of hair. ASU was previously known as the Indians.
 
PLACHY HALL GYM
The Adams State Women's Basketball team plays its home games inside Plachy Hall Gym. The facility also contains a pool and weight room. With a listed capacity around 500 (Wikipedia) it is one of the smaller gyms in the RMAC. Seating type is noted as "bleachers" with "The Den" emblazoned on the wall. Otherwise, it's pretty much just a normal gym. For those who are into GPS and geocaching, the coordinates are 37.476173 degrees north and 105.880991 degrees west.
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis starts the weekend with a Friday-night matchup hosting UCCS. The Skyhawks are just one game under .500 at 6-7 overall with a 2-5 mark in RMAC action. Despite a similar record to Mines, three of Fort Lewis's wins have come against Northern New Mexico College and the University of the Southwest, both out of the NAIA. Most recently, FLC suffered a narrow loss to Chadron State in Nebraska, 66-65. That being said, Fort Lewis ranks in the national top-50 in seven statistical categories including #17 in turnover margin, #18 in assist-to-turnover ratio and #19 in turnovers per game. Four Skyhawks average double-digit scoring figures with Alyssa Yocky topping the list at 12.3 points per game. Yocky also leads in rebounding with 8.2 boards per game. Yocky and Sydney Candelaria both have more than 20 steals on the season.
 
WHAT'S A SKYHAWK?
Fort Lewis' Skyhawk mascot is not actually an animal, rather the name attached to multiple types of aircraft including Cessna's, attack jets and helicopters. The term is also considered slang for someone who doesn't allow fun, or a stick in the mud. In regards to aircraft, the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is the top result in a Google search for, "What's a Skyhawk?" It's a single-seat, subsonic, carrier-capable attack craft developed for the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the early 1950's. With a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds, it's considered a relatively lightweight aircraft. Needless to say, no real bird that weights over 24,000 is flying anywhere. The jet has a top speed of more than 670 miles per hour and supports a variety of missiles, bombs and other munitions. In summary, a Skyhawk is a "light", fast, versatile, man-made bird. And now you know.
 
WHALEN GYMNASIUM
Whalen gymnasium is the home for FLC's volleyball and basketball programs. Boasting a capacity of 2,750, Saturday provides promise for a much larger crowd. The facility is named after Fort Lewis College Hall-of-Famer Dr. Donald F. Whalen. The late doctor began a 29-year career in Durango as a physical educator, head basketball coach and assistant football coach. He eventually became the Director of Athletics and served many other rolls. In regards to his namesake, the gym was formerly known as Fort Lewis Fieldhouse before its dedication in 2003. In late 2017, FLC brought a 57.5-million dollar proposal to expand the facility.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Orediggers are 23-33 in the all-time series against Adams State and 18-36 in the all-time series against Fort Lewis. Despite trailing both all-time series, Mines has won both of its most recent matchups with the Grizzlies and Skyhawks. The Orediggers took down FLC 57-53 inside Lockridge Arena last season and defeated Adams State 89-66 in Alamosa behind nine three-pointers from Cassidy Budge. Mines' last trip to Durango was Feb. 17, 2017 and it resulted in a 72-60 loss for the Orediggers. Head coach Brittany Simpson and the Orediggers have not lost to Adams State since Jan. 13, 2012 – more than half a decade ago.
 
BREAKING OUT
Raven Herrera is in her third year with the Orediggers and has seen action the last two. As a redshirt freshman, Herrera appeared in 23 games with no starts and finished the season 102 points. Now, in her redshirt sophomore season, Herrera has surpassed nearly every number from last season. Most notably, she's averaging 10.9 points per game this season with four double-doubles compared to just 4.4 points per game last year with no double-doubles. Over her last two games, Herrera has totaled 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
True freshman Denali Pinto leads Mines in scoring at 12.0 points per game with 120 points on the season. No true-freshman Oredigger has averaged double-digit scoring numbers in more than a decade. That time span includes the likes of Emily Bailey, Taylor Helbig, Laura Tyree, Brecca Gaffney, Emily Dalton and Angie Charchalis. All six of those individuals scored 1,000-career points for the Orediggers. The last true freshman to finish the season with a scoring average in the double digits was Ashley Gronewoller – Mines' all-time leading scorer. Needless to say, Pinto is among some good company.
 
THINGS TO KNOW
Three Orediggers are averaging double-digit scoring numbers including Denali Pinto (12.0), Nicole Archambeau (11.7) and Raven Herrera (10.9). All six of Mines' wins this season have come in the friendly confines of Lockridge Arena. Mines is outscoring its opponents 780-740 with its biggest margin coming in the third quarter, 196-170. The Orediggers have scored most of their points in the fourth quarter, with 201 on the season. Two individuals have combined for six double-doubles on the season. Archambeau has two while Herrera leads the team with four. Archambeau has 13 double-doubles in her career. Mines is 4-1 when shooting 40-percent or better from the floor. It's only loss when shooting over 40 percent came to now #1 West Texas A&M.
 
RMAC RUNDOWN
Heading into the weekend, there are two teams with unblemished RMAC records. Colorado Mesa is 7-0 and 10-1 overall with Westminster at 7-0 and 9-2 overall. CSU-Pueblo (8-5, 6-1) and Black Hills State (9-2, 5-2) round out the top four. If the season ended today, there would be a four-way tie for fifth place between Western Colorado, Colorado Christian, MSU Denver and UCCS. Mines is currently on the outside looking in at the RMAC Tournament. However, 15 games remaining in conference play give the Orediggers plenty of time to make up ground.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines returns to Lockridge Arena Jan. 18-19 as the Orediggers host South Dakota Mines and #22 Black Hills State. Friday's game against South Dakota is also Faculty Appreciation Night. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.