RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team has had a real rough week.
After taking some lumps in a pair of losses, the Lady Hardrockers are looking regroup, refocus and get back to their winning ways, and apparently there is no better place to do that than on a long Colorado road trip this weekend.
The Hardrockers took a bit of a hit last week in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, dropping a game to Black Hills State, 82-50, in Spearfish, S.D., and then lost a heartbreaker at home to Westminster College, 69-65.
The losses give SD Mines a 12-7 record on the season and 7-6 mark in the conference. The squad dropped down in the standings and currently hold the final playoff spot at No. 8.
A potent offensive team, the 'Rockers are the second-best scoring team in the RMAC, averaging 69.4 points per game. The Hardrockers work on both ends of the court, evidenced by their 9.1 point margin on the season.
With four Lady 'Rockers averaging 10+ points per game, the 'Rockers have several weapons to choose from. Sophomore
Anna Haugen leads the charge (10.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) followed by junior
Taylor Molstad (10.3ppg), sophomore
Sami Steffeck (10.1 ppg) and sophomore
Cooper Courtney (10.0).
The Hardrockers look to get back into the win column against Western State Colorado University Friday night in Gunnison, Colo.
Western (6-13, 3-10 RMAC) looks to halt a four-game slide with a victory over the 'Rockers. The Mountaineers are 1-5 at home, but have lost several tight games in Paul Wright Gym – the highest elevation gym in the nation. On the season, Western has allowed an average of 61.2 points per game, significantly below SD Mines' offensive average.
In recent weeks, Mountaineer freshman Samantha Coleman has produced a steady offensive attack with flourishes of double-digit scoring (7.9 ppg). Now the third-leading scorer on the team, Coleman joins fellow freshman Jessie Erickson (8.3 ppg) and Katie Dalton (9.8 pgg) in managing the scoring load for the Mountaineers.
Friday's game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. (MST) start time and the game can be viewed at
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gomountaineers/ . Livestats for the contest are also available at:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/western/wbball/ .
Saturday, the 'Rockers will be in Grand Junction, Colo., to challenge Colorado Mesa. The Lady Mavericks have climbed up the RMAC rankings and head into the weekend in fourth place with a 15-4 overall record and 9-4 mark in the conference. They are on a four-game win streak and are eighth in the NCAA Div. II South Central Region rankings this week.
Senior
Erin Reichle became Colorado Mesa's all-time leader in made three-point baskets with 215, and she moved into 10th place on the all-time scoring list over the weekend also. The Utah native has 1,277 points in her career and is just six assists away from tying for fourth place on the all-time assists list. Reichle has 320 assists in her career with the Mavericks.
The Mavericks are 10-0 this season when they outrebound their opponent as opposed to 4-4 when they are outrebounded by their opponent.
That game will take place at 5:30 p.m. (MST) and came be viewed at:
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cmumavericks/ , or follow along with livestats at:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/coloradomesa/wbball/ .
