CHADRON, Neb. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team defeated Chadron State, 78-62, Saturday night in Nebraska during the final Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game of the season and the Lady Hardrockers earned their first-ever berth into the RMAC Shootout postseason tournament as the eighth seed.

Heading into Saturday's bout, SD Mines was in a three-way tie with Black Hills State and Colorado Christian, all with nine conference wins on the season. After the dust settled, SD Mines found themselves alone in eighth place as the other two teams had lost their final games of the year.

 The Hardrockers will now travel to Pueblo, Colo., to face the No. 1 seeded CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves (20-2 conference record) Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. In just their second year as members of the RMAC, the Lady Hardrockers will enter the postseason tournament.

In Saturday's match, the Hardrockers did just what they wanted to, jumping out to a fast start and didn't look back. The visitors led by 13 points after the first quarter, 24-11, and went into halftime with a 15-point advantage, 47-32. 

The third quarter proved to be a little dicey for the Hardrockers as Chadron State came surging back, outscoring SD Mines, 21-9, but the 'Rockers held on to a slim, 56-53, edge. SD Mines regrouped and exploded for 22 points in the final frame while the home team managed just nine.

"What an effort by the ladies tonight, we executed big time on both ends of the court," said Hardrocker women's basketball head coach Ryan Larsen. "Taylor Molstad got us going offensively in the first half with a big time performance. Cooper Courtney also had some huge threes to shoot CSC out of their zone. In the third quarter Chadron came out determined, but we weathered their run. Sami Steffeck and Anna Haugen had an outstanding fourth quarter to give us a comfortable lead to end the game."

The Hardrockers finished the night shooting 44 percent from the field, making good on 25-57 attempt, including 11-26 from three-point range, and were 17-22 from the free throw line. SD Mines did much better rebounding Saturday with 39 rebounds, added 12 assists, six steals and five blocks.

The Eagles ended with 37 percent shooting making good on 22-59 attempts, 8-20 from behind the arc and were 10-14 from the foul line. They tacked on 34 rebounds, 15 assists, six steals and two blocks.

Molstad had an outstanding night, cashing in for 24 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block. Steffeck added 18 points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist. Haugen and Courtney both contributed with 12 markers each.

Chadron State was paced in scoring by Kalli Feddersen and Havannah Newens both with 13 markers on the night and Maddie Metzger added 12 and Leticia Rodriguez put up 11 points.

The Hardrockers finish the season with a 12-15 overall record and 10-12 mark in the RMAC.

I'm so happy that our seniors get to keep playing, I'm really proud of our team and extremely happy for our athletic program and school," Larsen said.
The rest of the 2017 RMAC women's basketball tournament bracket has been set with all the quarterfinals to begin Tuesday.

Colorado Mesa comes into the tournament with the second seed after going 17-5 in RMAC play. The Mavericks will host seventh-seeded Colorado School of Mines February 28 at 6 p.m.

UCCS claims the third seed with a 17-5 conference record. The Mountain Lions will host their quarterfinal matchup against sixth-seeded MSU Denver. Tipoff on February 28 is set for 7 p.m.

Regis takes the fourth seed with a 16-6 record and will host fifth-seeded Fort Lewis in the quarterfinals. Tipoff in Denver, Colorado is set for 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
The semifinals and finals of the RMAC tournament will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals. The semifinal round of the tournament will be on Friday with the finals taking place on Saturday.