LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team dominated New Mexico Highlands on Friday evening as the Orediggers won their ninth straight game in 86-43 fashion inside the Wilson Complex.
 
Megan Van de Graaf topped the team in scoring and rebounding thanks to 16 points and eight boards. Denali Pinto filled up the stat sheet as well thanks to 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. The trio of Courtney Stanton, Sammy Van Sickle and Ashley Steffeck combined for 35 points to make it five Orediggers in double digits. Steffeck also grabbed eight rebounds, tallied four assists and racked up three steals. Once again, Liz Holter proved tops in assists as she dished out five dimes on the night.
 
As a team, Mines' biggest strength came from 40 points in the paint. The Orediggers (17-6, 14-4 RMAC) also found 30 points off the bench. On defense, the visitors from Golden forced 23 turnovers by New Mexico Highlands (1-22, 0-18 RMAC) while racking up 13 steals. Mines was modest on offense behind a shooting percentage of 46.5 from the floor and 41.7 from long range. The victory keeps the Orediggers in a tie for #2 in the RMAC standings with Western Colorado, just three games out of first place with four to play.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday opened to clear skies and sunshine providing snow melt along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. The fine weather taunted the Orediggers who had traveled south to Las Vegas, N.M. the night before. However, clear skies and warm temperatures greeted the visitors as the headed into the John A. Wilson Complex to face the hosting Cowgirls. Similar to the first meeting, NMHU put up a fight early and forced two ties and three lead changes in the opening quarter. However, Mines pieced together a 9-0 run to take a 22-17 lead into the first break.
 
After the first quarter, it was all Orediggers. The visitors never trailed and the score was never tied for the remaining 30 minutes of action. Nine points and three steals from Pinto highlighted the second period and sent the game into halftime with Mines holding a 44-27 advantage. It was a lead that continued to grow as the Oredigger defense held NMHU to only five points in the third frame while Steffeck led her team with five points. The largest lead of the night came with 1:40 to play in the game on a three-point basket from Shelby Nichols. It marked the last points of the game as Van de Graaf finished strong behind eight fourth-quarter points.
 
COACH'S COMMENT
"I thought our kids played hard tonight," said Mines Head Coach Brittany Simpson. "It was great to have everyone contribute."
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is now 32-34 in the all-time series against New Mexico Highlands with 11 straight wins over the Cowgirls.
- Saturday marked the Orediggers' 13th double-digit win of the season.
- Van de Graaf's 16 points on Friday night were a career high for the sophomore.
- The Orediggers forcing 23 turnovers by NMHU marked the second-most turnovers by an opponent this season.
- Mines has surpassed 80 points in game on four different occasions in the 2019-20 campaign.
- The last time Mines won nine straight games was the 2015-16 season. It came as part of a 13-game run that led to a RMAC title.
- Mines' record for consecutive wins is 13.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is 129-94 in eight years at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines closes out a four-game road swing on Saturday night at CSU-Pueblo at 5:30 p.m. 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.