Mines (14-8, 11-6 RMAC) vs. N.M. Highlands (4-20, 2-15 RMAC) – Friday, 6 p.m. [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (14-8, 11-6 RMAC) vs. CSU-Pueblo (13-10, 11-6 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 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".
 
PARENTS, FAMILY & ALUMNI WEEKEND
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team is hosting its annual parent, family and alumni weekend this Friday and Saturday inside Lockridge Arena. Friday night is Family and Parents night featuring a rematch with New Mexico Highlands at 6 p.m. Saturday is Alumni Night with another showdown against defending RMAC Champions CSU-Pueblo at 5 p.m. NMHU is mathematically eliminated from the RMAC postseason while CSU-Pueblo is tied with Mines for third place in the conference standings. Two wins would keep the Orediggers in third place. Anything else could drop the ladies all the way out of the tournament field.
 
LAST WEEKEND IN REVIEW
Mines hosted Chadron State Friday and MSU Denver Saturday along with "Rock the Lock". The Orediggers found the redemption they were seeking after losing to both teams on the road earlier this season. Friday's game was a dominant 81-52 win over the Eagles. Saturday featured a nail-biter that Mines pulled out, 69-63, over the Roadrunners. Defense reigned supreme against CSC as the home team racked up 15 steals and forced 27 turnovers. Cassidy Budge and Denali Pinto stole the show Saturday night with an epic, fourth-quarter comeback. The duo combined for 30 points in the final period as Budge led all players with 22 points. Last weekend's wins puts Mines on a four-game winning streak – one victory shy of its longest streak this season.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands rolls into Golden Friday night on a seven-game skid with no shot at the postseason. However, history has taught us that the most dangerous teams can be the ones with nothing to lose. Half of NMHU's wins this season came against University of the Southwest. The other two came over Adams State and at Chadron State. Despite their overall record, the Cowgirls boast a pair of weapons in Jordyn Lewis and Allyah George who combine to average 24 points per game. Lewis is a threat from beyond the arc, ranking #44 in the nation in three-point field goals made. As a team, NMHU ranks #4 in DII in personal fouls per game and #5 in fewest total fouls. Mines should not expect to make it to the charity stripe often.
 
COWGIRLS – ACTUALLY FROM COLORADO
When Mines and NMHU last met, fans were given a brief history on cowgirls including names like Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane. Interestingly enough, the first woman to ride a bronc at the Cheyenne Frontier Days was Bertha (Kaepnerik) Blancett from Colorado. So some might argue that cowgirl is more Colorado than New Mexico. The concept of the rodeo cowgirl took off from 1904 until the late 1920's. Women like Mabel Strickland and Bonnie McCarroll built names as some of the top rodeo competitors in the country. However, the urban audiences that attended rodeos became less comfortable with women competing against men and the transition to "ranch girls" or rodeo queens began. By 1936, women were excluded from rodeo main events and by the 1940's, women were relegated to sponsor girl roles and pageant-like competitions with horsemanship displays. Women provided a response to that relegation in 1948 when 38 ropers, bronc riders and barrel racers came together in San Angelo, Texas and created the Girls Rodeo Association (GRA). This history seems appropriate considering the proximity to National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebrated on Feb. 6 – earlier this month.
 
SCOUTING CSU-PUEBLO
Elitch Gardens in Denver could name a ride the ThunderWolf after the season CSU-Pueblo has put together so far. Riddled with winning streaks, losing streaks and lots of ups and downs, CSU-Pueblo faces UCCS Friday night in Colorado Springs after losing to the Mountain Lions in Pueblo just two weeks ago. The ThunderWolves are on a two-game winning streak and could make it three with a win Friday night. However, just like Mines, CSUP could fall right out of the projected tournament field just one year after winning the RMAC regular-season and tournament titles. The ThunderWolves will look to Jennah Knafelc's 14.5 points per game and Khiya Adams' 12.2 points per game as a spark to get a win. Adams also leads the team and sits near the top of the league with 7.0 rebounds per game. Defensively, CSU-Pueblo has blocked 106 shots this season and ranks #27 in the nation in blocked shots per game. Grit and determination will be a must if Mines wants to replicate its performance from earlier this season.
 
SERIOUSLY – THUNDERWOLVES AREN'T REAL
Those who read the preview for the last meeting between the Orediggers and CSU-Pueblo are now fully aware that ThunderWolves are not real animals. Further research reveals additional ties to mythology. According to the always reliable Wikipedia, ThunderWolves may also be tied to Raiju or thunder beast. Defined as a legendary creature from Japanese mythology, Raiju features a body of lighting with the form of a white and blue wolf. So CSU-Pueblo almost got it. Known to the Japanese as the companion to Raijin, the Shinto god of lightning, Raiju is considered generally calm and harmless but can fly about as a ball of lightning. So that's kind of cool.
 
LOCKRIDGE ARENA
Fondly referred to as "The Lock", Mines' home court for volleyball, men's basketball and women's basketball features seating for 3,000 at Oredigger home athletics events. The venue has also twice hosted the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Tournament. Additionally, Lockridge Arena hosts numerous major campus events and has been graced by the presence of Barack Obama, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye and many others.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Thanks to wins against both teams earlier this season, the Orediggers are now 19-36 in the all-time series against CSU-Pueblo and 30-33 against New Mexico Highlands. Mines currently touts an eight-game winning streak against the Cowgirls. The Orediggers' victory over CSU-Pueblo on Feb. 1 was their first over "The Pack" since 2016. This note probably should have been at the beginning, but Mines defeated CSU-Pueblo 66-47 and NMHU 69-38. Denali Pinto dominated both teams to the tune of 56 points in 56 minutes on her way to RMAC Offensive Player of the Week distinction. The first offensive award of her career.
 
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE DENALI
The title is meant for all the Sound of Music fans out there. The content is meant for both CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. On Feb. 1, Pinto outscored the entire ThunderWolves roster through three quarters on her way to a 33-point performance. Pinto went 12-for-15 from the field including 3-for-5 from long range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. She only played one minute in the fourth quarter and also grabbed five rebounds with two assists and a steal. Pinto led all players again the next night with 23 points against the Cowgirls. In that game, the true freshman dished out four assists with seven rebounds. She played two minutes in the fourth quarter of that game. Overall, Pinto is #4 in the RMAC in scoring and ranks #5 among all freshman in NCAA Division II.
 
OREDIGGER LEADERS
True freshman Denali Pinto leads Mines in scoring with 304 points on the season at 15.2 points per game. Raven Herrera is also averaging double-digits with 10.0 points per game. Anna Kollmorgen leads the Orediggers in minutes played with 32.0 per game. She also leads the team with 68 assists as she climbs the program's top-10 list. Megan Van de Graaf is most efficient from the floor, shooting nearly 52 percent on the season. Nicole Archambeau is tops on the glass with 156 boards and 7.4 rebounds per game. Herrera also leads in steals while Pinto leads the way with 14 blocks.
 
FIRST AND LAST SHOT
Mines has played 22 games this season. Seven different Orediggers have taken the first shot and scored the first points of the game. On the other end, 10 different Orediggers have attempted Mines' last field goal of the game and 11 individuals have recorded the final points of the game. Mines is undefeated when Denali Pinto, Courtney Stanton or Megan Van de Graaf attempt the first field goal of the contest. Additionally, the Orediggers are 7-1 when its Pinto, Stanton or Madelene McDonald scoring Mines' first points of the contest. At the end of the game, Mines is 8-0 with Heaven McKinley, Ali Kramer, McDonald, Stanton and Nicole Archambeau taking the last field goal. The Orediggers are 9-1 when Stanton, Pinto, McKinley, McKale Grant, Raven Herrera, Sammy Van Sickle and Cassidy Budge score the final points of the game for Mines. Things that don't matter, but now you know.
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Over its last five games, Mines' defense has been absolutely stellar. The Orediggers are holding opposing teams to just 36-percent shooting from the floor and a stingy 29-percent in the first half alone. Speaking of the first half, Mines' opponents have managed just 10 total three-point baskets in the first half over that same period. That defense is good enough for just 20.8-percent from long range. Overall, the Orediggers' last five opponents are shooting 21 percent from behind the arc, but manage to offset it by shooting 80 percent at the free-throw line. As has become normal, Mines is also dominating the glass 191-151 overall and 104-75 in the first half. We're not guaranteeing a championship, but defense like this sure helps.
 
RMAC TOURNAMENT PROJECTIONS
If the season ended today, Mines would enter the 2019 RMAC Tournament as the #4 seed. Colorado Mesa and Westminster would go to the point-rating system to break their tie. UCCS would be the #3 seed with a 2-0 record against CSU-Pueblo and Mines. The Orediggers earn their advantage over CSU-Pueblo thanks to a 1-0 record while the ThunderWolves would fall into the #5 slot. Western Colorado would take the #6 spot thanks to its head-to-head record against MSU Denver. The Roadrunners currently seed #7 while Colorado Christian takes the eighth and final spot in the tournament field. Due to tiebreakers, Black Hills State is left on the outside looking in. Lucky for everyone, there are still five games remaining on the RMAC slate and literally anything could happen – including Mines sharing a regular-season title.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Orediggers hit the road one last time in the regular season as it heads to Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines Feb. 22-23. Live stats and video will be available at MinesAthletics.com.