RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will make the 10-hour trek to Alamosa, Colorado, this weekend to square off against the Adams State University Grizzlies for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup.

The Hardrockers opened the season last weekend in Denver, Colorado, competing in RMAC games against Colorado School of Mines and Regis University. South Dakota Mines dropped their opener against the Orediggers, 68-53, and the next day fell just short to the Rangers, 71-67.

"They were the first two games of the season for us and it very exciting and well overdue for our team and our staff," said Hardrocker women's basketball head coach Jeri Jacobson. "We are grateful for the opportunity to get back on the floor and compete."

The Grizzlies on the other hand have just one game in the books and it was a dramatic victory over CSU Pueblo on Thursday night, 62-61. That win snapped a 16-game losing streak for ASU against the ThunderWolves, and is the Grizzlies' first win over CSU Pueblo since February 12, 2011.

Adams will again attempt to end a losing skid Saturday against the Hardrockers as the home team has never defeated South Dakota Mines in the two programs' short history. SDM owns the record, 5-0. In fact, in all the games played, the 'Rockers have won by at least 15 points or better.

It's be hard to assess how to attack ASU just one game, but Laura Gutierrez and Stephanie Ruiz should be the biggest challenge as they tallied 17 points and 15 points respectfully while Kaitlyn Bell added 10 markers, logged the most minutes from Thursday's win (32) and posted nine rebounds for her squad.

The Hardrockers saw a lot of point production in their first outing of the season with Ryan Weiss leading the way, averaging 12.5 points. Anna Combalia, Sydnee Durtsche, Madelyn Heiser and Bailey Johnson all averaged seven points a game.

The Hardrocker women had little time to practice together in the preseason due to COVID, but had stretches in the first two game where they played very well as a unit. Once they get more familiar with each other, they will be an even more potent offense and teams will have fits defending them.

Saturday's game is slated for a 3 p.m. tipoff and will be streamed live on the Hardrocker Network at: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sdsmt/ .