RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team returns to Rapid City this weekend after picking up its first win of the season on the road in Sioux Falls, S.D., last Saturday during the University of Sioux Falls Classic.
 
The Lady Hardrockers (1-3) defeated Southwest Minnesota State, 85-67. Junior Payton Humpal hit four three-pointers on her way to 19 points, leading the Lady Rockers in the victory.
 
Freshman Cooper Courtney tacked on 14 points (four three-pointers), sophomore Marissa Hirchert contributed with 13 points and freshman Anna Haugen had a double-double knocking down 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Junior Krista Showalter also performed well, distributing the ball very well with a game-high eight assists.
 
The Hardrockers shot 51 percent from the field Saturday, converting on 31-61 attempts, including 11 three pointers. SD Mines hit 12-16 from the free throw line for 75 percent, had 37 rebounds, 23 assists and eight steals.
 
"I was really happy with the win and the way we played today," said SD Mines women's basketball head coach Ryan Larsen. "We were very good offensively all game and we executed and found great shots."
 
So far this season, Courtney is averaging 13.5 points per game followed by 10.3 from Humpal. Courtney is shooting 7-13 from the three-point arc, pacing the team with seven three-pointers this season. Showalter leads the team in assists with 4.3 per game. Haugen is leading the team in rebounds, averaging 8.0 per game. The post player is also 12-17 from the free-throw line.
 
Next on the schedule for SD Mines is a meeting with the MSU Billings Yellowjackets Saturday at 3 p.m.   for the Lady Hardrockers' home opener at the King Center.
 
The Yellowjackets have a 1-4 record this season. They face Chadron State on Friday before coming to the King Center for a matchup with the Hardrockers.
 
So far this season both teams have had similar offensive production, averaging nearly 64 points per game. However, the Hardrocker defense has been much more effective. SD Mines has allowed 65.8 points per game while the Yellowjackets have given up 72.4 per contest.
 
The Hardrockers have never beaten the Yellowjackets in the programs' four meeting --- a trend SD Mines plans to end this weekend.
 
The game  broadcast will be streamed on Stretch Internet along with live stats at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .