RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team heads off on its final road trip of the year this weekend as the Lady Hardrockers travel to Denver, Colo., Friday to face Regis University and then will be in Nebraska on Saturday to square off against Chadron State in the regular-season finale.

The Hardrockers have punched their ticket into the post-season Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament (Feb. 27) and after this round of games is over the "who's" and "where's" and "when's" will all be decided.

SD Mines is currently eighth in the RMAC standings, but depending on final outcomes around the conference this weekend, could climb up to seventh place. The 'Rockers have the potential to play CSU-Pueblo, MSU Denver or Black Hills State once the playoffs hit on Tuesday.

The 'Rockers head into the weekend with a 16-10 overall record and 11-9 conference mark. SD Mines earned a win over Western last Friday. SD Mines sophomore Anna Haugen scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to hold off the Mountaineers, 57-48. Haugen totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, adding on a steal and a block.  Haugen leads the team on the year, averaging 10.4 ppg and 6.3 ppg.

SD Mines senior Payton Humpal, playing in her final home contest of her career, also scored 18 points, while tallying two steals and an assist in the bout against Western. Humpal is averaging 7.2 ppg. Sophomores Sami Steffeck and Cooper Courtney along with junior Taylor Molstad are cashing in for just under 10 points a game.

Senior Krista Showalter, who's career is also coming to a close after this season, will become the sixth all-time assists leader in Hardrocker history. She currently has 349 assists in her time as a Hardrocker. Showalter led the RMAC in assists a year ago and is currently listed as the RMAC's sixth best, recording 89 so far this season and averaging 3.4 a game.

First on the schedule this weekend is Regis University. The Lady Rangers went 1-1 this past week against Chadron State and Westminster, putting them at 13-7 in RMAC games and 14-11 overall.

The Rangers went into overtime with the Chadron State Eagles on Friday, ultimately outscoring them, 12-3, in extra time to clinch an 85-76 victory. The Lady Rangers' Chante Church scored a game-high 28 points on 44 percent shooting. Mary Sigler scored 20 points, including a three-pointer in overtime, on 57 percent shooting. Emma Sterkel dished out a career-high six assists and Shelby Espinosa, who is first in the RMAC in rebounding and 18^th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game, grabbed 11 boards, --- her fifth-straight game with 10 or more. The Rangers then fell short to Westminster, 63-55, on Saturday in Denver.   

Friday's game will be a rematch from the middle of December where Regis escaped with a 77-75 double overtime victory. Church scored 24 markers in that outing and Sigler dropped in 23. In the late-season version, if SD Mines can keep those two out of the scorebook and play their type of game while limiting Espinosa's second-chance opportunities, the visitors have a great chance for payback.

The game is slated for a 5 p.m. (MST) tipoff and will be available to view on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/. Livestats will also be provided at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/regis/wbball/.

In Saturday's outing the Lady Hardrockers close out the regular season against the CSC Eagles, who are on a four-game skid and ranked 12^th in the RMAC heading into the weekend with a 5-20 overall mark and 3-16 record in the conference.

The Hardrockers are looking to sweep their Nebraska rivals after drubbing them back in December, 83-57.  Jessica Harvey led the Eagles with 16 points in the bout and Savannah Weidauer added 10 in the losing effort. Kalli Feddersen leads Chadron averaging 15.3 points per game while Taryn Fox contributes with 8.9 ppg.

The game is slated for a 5:30p.m. (MST) tipoff and will be available to view on the RMAC Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/. Livestats will also be provided at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/csc/wbball/ .