RAPID CITY, S.D. ---- After a sluggish start to the season, the South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team is starting to pick up the pace as the Lady Hardrockers resume Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend in Colorado.

The 'Rockers have won their last two games to pull themselves back in the conference mix, including an impressive, 52-46, tilt at Adams State two weeks ago, followed by a non-conference victory over Nebraska Christian, 65-32 on Monday.

SD Mines is now 4-5 on the season and 1-4 in the RMAC standings.  

The Hardrockers make a long road trip, traveling to Grand Junction, Colorado, on Friday to challenge the league's top squad in Colorado Mesa (8-1, 5-0) and then on to Gunnison, Colorado Saturday to face a solid Western State Colorado University (7-2, 3-2).

The Lady Mavericks have been sweeping through the RMAC and is on a seven-game winnings streak. CMU boast the conference's top defense, allowing 52.2 points a game and are defeating teams by a 13.4-point margin (second in the RMAC).

The Lady Mavs are led by senior guard Jaylyn Duran, who is also the RMAC's leading scorer. She cashes in 24.2 points per game and has hit 37 three-pointers so far this season -- .381 percent (also tops the league). The rest of the Mesa roster has its players all averaging in single digits.

The key for the 'Rockers is to limit Duran and capitalize and turn turnovers into baskets. Duran scored a career high 32 points in the Mavericks win against Chadron State earlier this season. She previously set a career high the night before in a win over MSU Denver scoring 30 points --- so easier said than done.

The game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff on Friday.

Saturday, the Hardrockers take on one of the biggest surprises of the league when they face Western State in a 5 p.m. matchup.

The Mountaineers, who were ranked 10^th in the latest NCAA Div. II Southcentral Regional Poll, are currently 7-2 on the season (3-2 in the RMAC) and have already put more marks in the win column then all of the 2017-18 season.

Western won its fourth-straight game on Sunday to improve to 7-2 on the season. The Mountaineers are 3-2 against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents. The Western defense has held opponents to an average of 52.9 points per game this season, which ranks second best in the RMAC and ties for ninth best in Division II. The Mountaineers' average margin of victory is 10.4 points, which ranks fourth in the conference.

The Mountaineers are led by a pair of sophomores as Katie Dalton averages 11.3 points per game and teammate Samantha Coleman cashes in for 10.8 each game. Chandler Willis, Jessica Erickson and Tammarrah and Samantha Coleman are all contributing just over seven markers a game, so they head into the weekend as a very balanced offensive squad.

With the Lady 'Rockers catching fire in this stretch of the season, this game will decide who has the better defense. SD Mines ranks fourth in the conference allowing 57.2 points per game.

Hardrocker senior Taylor Molstad leads the Hardrocker offense, putting up 10.4 points per game while juniors Anna Haugen and Cooper Courtney are contributing with just over eight points each. Haugen is also having another good season rebounding the ball (averaging 8.2 per game which ranks third in the conference).