COLORADO SPRINGS – The Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team dropped its 2019-20 regular season finale on Friday night, falling to UCCS by a score of 70-49 inside Gallogly Event Center.
 
Denali Pinto led the Orediggers with 12 points including a 3-of-5 mark from behind the arc. Megan Van de Graaf also scored in double digits, notching 10 points while shooting 66 percent from the field. Heidi Hammond's six rebounds proved tops on the team while the trio of Ashley Steffeck, Sammy Van Sickle and Pinto combined for three steals apiece. Liz Holter capped the highlights by dishing out six assists.
 
Mines (18-9, 15-7 RMAC) finished the game with seven three-point baskets and forced UCCS (11-17, 10-12 RMAC) to commit 22 turnovers. However, the visitors managed just 15 points off those turnovers. The Mountain Lions ultimately protected their home court by shooting over 50 percent from the field. With the loss, Mines enters the postseason on a three-game losing streak. The Orediggers clinch the #4 seed in the RMAC Tournament and will host fifth-seeded Black Hills State on Tuesday. On the other side, UCCS closes out its campaign riding a four-game winning streak but won't appear in the postseason.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday proved to a busy day in Olympic City USA with Mines track & field competing at the RMAC Championships across campus and UCCS women's basketball celebrating Senior Day. The energy of all the activity proved fortuitous for the home Mountain Lions and appeared to drag down the visiting Orediggers as UCCS burst out to 12-2 lead in the first three minutes of action.
 
Mines responded with a late surge at the end of the second quarter, but the home team stopped the rally early and closed the half on a 5-0 run. After 20 minutes of play, UCCS found itself shooting 68 percent from the field and over 70 percent from three. Those numbers fell dramatically in the second half, but Mines could never find its rhythm on offense. After leading by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter, the Mountain Lions coasted into the final buzzer with a 21-point cushion.
 
NOTABLES
- Mines is 20-22 in the all-time series against UCCS.
- Friday marked the Orediggers' first double-digit loss of the year.
- Courtney Stanton surpassed 300 points for the season.
- Holter moved over 100 assists for the year. She is the first Oredigger with triple-digit assists since Laura Tyree in 2014-15. Before that the last 100-assist player for Mines was Reece Bollinger in 2001-02.
- Head Coach Brittany Simpson is 130-97 in eight years at the helm.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Mines hosts Black Hills State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the 2020 RMAC Tournament. 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.