RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team will continue Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend as the Lady Hardrockers welcome the Dixie State Trailblazers and Westminster College Griffins at the King Center in Rapid City.
 
First up on the schedule are the Trailblazers Friday night in a 5:30 p.m. (MST) tipoff. Dixie State comes into this game with a 3-1 record having won their first three games of the season against Northern New Mexico College, 93-52, Western Oregon, 59-40, and Saint Martins, 107-103 (3 OT).
The Lady Blazers lone loss came in the first RMAC matchup last weekend against Westminster College, falling, 81-63.
 
Friday's game marks the first matchup between Dixie State and South Dakota Mines on the basketball court as this is the first year as an RMAC member for the St. George institution.
 
After 11 seasons as a member of the Pacific West Conference, the Trailblazers officially opened their RMAC membership on Saturday. Dixie State logged a 112-86 record as a member of the PacWest and finished in second place three times (2010-12). DSU was picked to finish in 10th place in the RMAC preseason coaches' poll.
Dixie State looks to build on a 12-15 overall record and an 8-12 mark in PacWest play during the 2017-18 season. As a team, Dixie State leads the conference in steals per game (14.8) and three-point field goals made per game (9.8).
 
The Trailblazers have four players averaging double digits in scoring after four games played. Mariah Martin leads the Trailblazers, averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Ali Franks is contributing with 14.5 ppg, Lisa VanCampen puts up 12.8 ppg and Rashel Blazzard cashes in for 12.3 ppg.
 
Saturday the Hardrockers will host Westminster College at 3:30pm. The Griffins comes into the weekend with a 3-2 record, having lost to Northwest Nazarene University, 74-59, and University of Central Missouri 86-74.
 
WC's wins have come against Texas A&M International, 89-58, Missouri S&T, 63-58, and most recently against Dixie State, 81-63, in their first RMAC matchup.
 
Westminster is 3-2 on the season, after defeating Dixie State, 83-61, in the opening weekend of league play. » The Griffins average 73.2 ppg, which is third in the RMAC. Denise Gonzalaz leads the squad with 18.8 points per game. She was named RMAC Player of the Year in the Preseason Polls. Hunter Krebs leads the Griffins bringing down 7.6 boards, which is sixth in conference. As a team, the Griffins are tied for first in the conference three-point percentage (36.7), and first in blocked shots per game (4.8) and defensive rebounds (29.0 per game).
 
South Dakota Mines enters the weekend with a 2-2 overall, 0-1 RMAC mark after opening conference play against Black Hills State last weekend.
 
The Hardrockers earned wins over MSU Billings (88-69) and Dakota State (100-42) before conference play began. Anna Haugen leads the Hardrocker attack, averaging 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while Molly McCabe continues to impress with 8.8 ppg and 5.5 rpg in the season's early goings.