GOLDEN, Colo. – The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team used balanced scoring and suffocating defense to claim a 68-47 win over CSU-Pueblo on Friday evening inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Four different Orediggers scored in double digits. Denali Pinto topped the team with 17 points. Heidi Hammond added 12 points behind 4-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Courtney Stanton chipped in 11 points, and Liz Holter capped the party with 10 points of her own. Holter also led all players with seven assists while grabbing four rebounds as well. Stanton led Mines on the glass thanks to seven rebounds. Defensively, Stanton jumped in with two blocks. McKale Grant flashed her prowess by grabbing two steals and swatting one shot as well. Additionally, Megan Van de Graaf proved solid behind a resume featuring seven points, six rebounds and two steals. Further proof of Mines' balance came from Sammy Van Sickle who finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and one still with one block.
 
As a team, the Orediggers (13-6, 10-4 RMAC) proved modest from a floor behind a shooting percentage of 35.6 including a mark of 43.5 from three-point range. The home team complimented its offense with a stifling defense that forced 17 turnovers, six steals and racked up four blocks. While CSU-Pueblo (5-14, 4-10 RMAC) came up with six blocks, the Oredigger defense held the ThunderWolves to 35 percent from the field and a meager 16 percent from long range. Additionally, CSU-Pueblo struggled at the free-throw line as "The Pack" shot under 63 percent at the stripe. The victory gives Mines its fifth straight win and keeps the Orediggers tied for #4 in the RMAC standings, just three games out of first place.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Golden rolled through Friday with temperatures into the 50's, but howling winds betrayed the balmy weather and drove over 300 fans into Lockridge Arena for the RMAC showdown between Mines and CSU-Pueblo. Those in attendance saw the Orediggers' 10-4 lead extend to 13-6 and then 18-8 by the end of the first quarter. Pinto fueled the early push with six points on two three-pointers in the opening period. That led to a series of 5-0 and 6-0 runs in the second quarter which gave Mines a 40-25 advantage at the half. Pinto finished the first 20 minutes with 14 points.
 
CSU-Pueblo came out firing in the second half and won the third quarter by a margin of 16-12. However, late in the third frame, the home team started a run and didn't stop. With 2:23 remaining in the game, the ThunderWolves finally stopped Mines' 21-0 run. It proved too late after the Orediggers found their biggest lead of the game at 68-41 with 4:30 to play. Though neither team scored for over two minutes, it played to Mines' advantage as the bench rolled in for quality minutes over the last 2:15. The Orediggers finished the game never trailing the opposition and only saw the score tied twice.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines now boasts four straight wins over CSU-Pueblo, sitting 23-36 in the all-time series but 7-3 over the last 10 meetings.
- The Orediggers haven't lost to the ThunderWolves since Jan. 20, 2018 – over two years ago.
- Holter's seven assists mark a career high for junior in an Oredigger uniform.
- Pinto boasts at least 17 points in 12 straight games. She ranks #1 in the RMAC in total points and points per game. She also hit 100 rebounds for the season on Friday night.
- Mines boasts nine double-digit wins in 2019-20 season and three wins of 20 points, or more.
- Every active Oredigger saw action on Friday night, marking the second straight game and fourth time this season that has happened.
- Five games marks Mines' longest winning streak of the season thus far.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is 125-94 in eight years at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Orediggers close out their four-game home stand on Saturday evening against New Mexico Highlands at 5 p.m. It's also Rock the Lock night featuring numerous giveaways. Additionally, fans get in free with a two-item donation to the canned food drive sponsored by the Mines Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Live stats and video of the game will be available at www.minesathletics.com.
 
Fans can follow Mines Women's Basketball on social media at @MinesWBB. Fans can also follow all of Mines Athletics at www.minesathletics.com or on social media at @MinesAthletics.