Mines (12-6, 9-4 RMAC) vs. CSU-Pueblo (5-13, 4-9 RMAC) – Friday, 6 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [Live Video]
Mines (12-6, 9-4 RMAC) vs. New Mexico Highlands (1-17, 0-13 RMAC) – Saturday, 5 p.m. – Lockridge Arena [Live Stats] [Live Video]
 
GAME DAY INFO
New in 2019-20, fans can purchase digital tickets online in advance via Mines' new ticketing portal, or buy them at the gate on game day. Ticket pricing remains the same as 2018-19 at $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, military, and children. Mines students, faculty, and staff are free with their Blaster Card. No pets (except service animals) are permitted inside Lockridge Arena.
 
ON THE RMAC NETWORK
Every Mines home game and all RMAC contests 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".
 
PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS
This weekend features a jam-packed slate of promotional events for Colorado School of Mines basketball. Friday marks the start of women's basketball alumni weekend while the Welchester Elementary Circus will be providing entertainment at halftime. On Saturday, it's the annual Rock The Lock event. As fans flock to Lockridge Arena, there will be numerous giveaways, prizes and freebies. Halftime brings the always-popular Disc Dogs to the gym floor. Saturday also continues women's basketball alumni weekend and includes Camper Night where kids wearing their camp t-shirt get in free. Tickets for parents are available for $3.00 at the door. Additionally, throughout the weekend is the Canned Food Drive sponsored by Mines' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Fans can bring two canned goods each night for a free ticket in to the games.
 
WEEKEND RUNDOWN
The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team enters the weekend's action riding a four-game win streak. Friday and Saturday also represent the tail end of a four-game stretch at home. The Orediggers are three games out of a tie for #1 in the RMAC standings and two wins have the potential to put them in second place. At the same time, two losses could plunge Mines into a tie for #8 and put the squad at risk of missing the postseason. On the other side of the court are CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands. Together, the two teams are 24 games under .500. However, nine games remain in the regular season which gives CSU-Pueblo a fighting chance at a conference tournament berth. Additionally, NMHU still seeks its first win in league play as the Cowgirls play for pride. Either way, neither opponent should be taken lightly.
 
LOOKING BACK
Mines put together a pair of strong performances last Friday and Saturday. The Orediggers opened with a gritty, 73-65 victory over MSU Denver. Denali Pinto led the offense with 28 points. Liz Holter, Courtney Stanton and Heidi Hammond scored in double digits as well. On defense, Sammy Van Sickle stole the show with four steals, two blocks and seven rebounds. No player had more steals, blocks or rebounds than Van Sickle. On Saturday, Mines rolled to a 93-48 win over Chadron State. This time, Holter was the star on offense thanks to 26 points on 11-13 shooting. Pinto added on 17 points while Ashley Steffeck and Stanton combined for 20. Van Sickle continued her defensive domination behind two steals, two blocks and nine rebounds. The two victories helped the Orediggers match their longest winning streak of the season.
 
SCOUTING CSU-PUEBLO
CSU-Pueblo is a program steeped in pride, tradition and success. However, the 2019-20 season marks a somewhat down year for the ThunderWolves. At 5-13 overall and 4-9 in the RMAC, CSU-Pueblo's conference wins have come over Adams State, New Mexico Highlands, Chadron State and Black Hills State. The win over BHSU came last Saturday in Pueblo by a score of 69-63. Other notable matchups include a 77-60 loss to defending national champion Lubbock Christian. CSU-Pueblo also dropped a 77-44 decision to Texas A&M-Commerce which is now ranked #4 in the nation. Individually, CSU-Pueblo's star is JaNaiya Davis. She sits fourth in the RMAC with 16.5 points per game and ranks top-10 in the league in almost every statistical category. That being said, another player to watch is Sydni Williams. She leads the ThunderWolves in blocks and rebounding with 30 stuffs and  148 boards. Williams' block numbers also contribute to a team that ranks #11 in all of NCAA Division II in blocked shots and blocks per game. As a point of reference through 18 games, CSU-Pueblo averages 57.0 points per game while giving up 66.0 points per game to the opposition.
 
WHAT'S A THUNDERWOLF
A made up animal and the nickname for CSU-Pueblo Athletics. That's what a ThunderWolf is. In the context of CSU-Pueblo, the ThunderWolf is a mythical creature intertwined in legend with colors reflecting Colorado's diverse geography. However, maybe a little history is in order. Colorado State University-Pueblo was previously known as the University of Southern Colorado with Indians as the nickname of its athletics teams. However according to CSU-Pueblo's athletics website, "The University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University-Pueblo) adopted the "ThunderWolf" as its mascot prior to the 1995-96 academic school year. The ThunderWolf came to life as USC looked to modernize its image following over 60 years of being known as the "Indians." The term Thunder Wolf (Thunderwolf/Thunderwolves) is part of a number of pop-culture references, but, as previously mentioned, is not actually part of the existing animal kingdom.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands faces UCCS in Colorado Springs on Friday before coming to Golden on Saturday. The Cowgirls seek their first win of conference play and second win of the season after beating Northern New Mexico College 66-59 on Nov. 18. Through 17 losses, NMHU's average scoring margin is -18.6. Their closest loss of the season was a seven-point margin at home against Chadron State on Jan. 17. The Cowgirls also played Dixie State and Westminster within eight points. Jordyn Lewis, Ashley Atone and Maiah Rivas all average double-digit scoring numbers for NMHU. Davis leads the trio with 16.3 points per game. Atone, who puts up 12.5 points per game, also leads the team in rebounding with 5.6 rebounds per contest. Rivas rounds out the trifecta, boasting 10.6 points per game to go along with 36 steals over 18 games. She also dishes out 3.7 assists per outing. Despite its 1-17 record, NMHU does not foul. In fact, the Cowgirls rank #3 in the nation in fewest fouls and #4 in fewest fouls per game.
 
COWGIRLS – ACTUALLY FROM COLORADO
New Mexico Highlands' women's teams are known as the Cowgirls. 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). And that's pretty much all we have on that.
 
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
While Mines may trail the all-time series against CSU-Pueblo, 22-36, the Orediggers boast a three-game winning streak against "The Pack" and sit 6-4 over the last 10 meetings. All three wins in the run came last season as Mines dominated CSU-Pueblo in Pueblo and claimed a 70-54 win inside Lockridge Arena. The last meeting was the first round of the RMAC Tournament and the Orediggers ground out a 62-57 win. In the series against NMHU, Mines is 30-34 but hasn't lost to the Cowgirls since Dec. 6, 2014. Most recently, the Orediggers claimed a 71-59 victory inside Lockridge Arena. Courtney Stanton and Dneali Pinto both recorded double-doubles in the win. Stanton went for 16 points and 10 rebounds. Pinto racked up 15 points and 11 rebounds. On the other side, Jordyn Lewis dropped a cool 19 points for NMHU.
 
SHE'S PRETTY GOOD
Just in case fans weren't aware, Denali Pinto is pretty good at basketball. Through 18 games she's averaging 19.8 points per game, which ranks #1 in the RMAC and #23 in NCAA Division II. But that's not all. Pinto also boasts a free-throw percentage of 90.3 on the season thanks to 121 makes on 134 attempts. That puts Pinto at #5 in the nation in free throws made, #12 in free-throw attempts and #12 in free-throw percentage. There's still more. Pinto has already scored 740 points less than two seasons into her collegiate career. In fact, the sophomore could break 1,000 this year if Mines makes a run into the postseason. However, not only does Pinto score she does everything else too. Through 45 games as an Oredigger, the Boulder, Colo., native boasts 241 rebounds, 91 assists, 45 steals and 21 blocks. So, that's pretty impressive.
 
BREAK IT DOWN NOW
Despite the previous ode to Denali Pinto, Mines boasts multiple outstanding players that have helped the Orediggers put together four straight wins. Here's a basic breakdown of the four-game win streak. Offensively over the last two weekends, Mines has shot 44 percent from the floor including 43 percent from long range. Meanwhile, the Orediggers have held their opponents to just 23 percent from behind the arc. Another advantageous discrepancy is 60 assists for Mines compared to 35 for its opponents. Additionally, the Orediggers have dominated the first quarter by outscoring teams 80-55. Individually, Pinto and Liz Holter lead the way with 23 and 17.5 points per game, respectively. Ashley Steffeck tops the team with 10 steals over the four-game run, while Sammy Van Sickle owns 42 rebounds, 14 assists, five blocks and eight steals. We could go on, but you get the point.
 
WORTH MENTIONING
While Orediggers through and through, Mines' assistant coaches Ashleigh Ackerman and Leslie Seymour boast a special tie to CSU-Pueblo as alumni, former players and members of the CSU-Pueblo Athletics Hall of Fame. The duo's induction came two years ago as part of the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 teams. Ackerman played on two of those teams while Seymour played on one and coached three of them. Those teams served as the foundation of a ThunderWolves' dynasty that saw women's basketball advance to 10 NCAA Tournaments in 13 years. The end.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Mines kicks off a four-game road trip next weekend as it heads to Chadron State on Friday and MSU Denver Saturday. Live stats and video of the games will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.