CANYON, Texas --- The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team begins its' 2021 season this week hoping to prove it belongs atop the RMAC Peak. The Hardrockers bring back plenty of experience with 10 returners including 8 of their top 9 scorers from the 2020-21 season. Among them is Ryan Weiss, a two-time RMAC All-Conference First Team selection, and Anna Combalia, an RMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention Selection in 2020-21.
 
South Dakota Mines was selected 8^th in the RMAC preseason poll but look to outplay that selection.
 
Point Guard:
South Dakota Mines returns an experienced returning starter who received RMAC honors last season as well as a true freshman.
 
The aforementioned Anna Combalia will be heavily relied upon to receive a majority of the minutes as the primary ball-handler. The Barcelona, Spain native earned RMAC All-Conference honorable mention after averaging 6 points, and 4.3 assists per game which was 3^rd in the RMAC. Combalia's playmaking skills will be an important piece to the offense and program achieving big things this season.
 
Coming in as a freshman from Crosby, Minn. is Lily Peterson. Peterson had a stellar high school career, being named to the Mid-State All-Conference team in addition to being named to the Brainerd Dispatch All-Area team 3 times, including earning their Player of the Year Award in 2020.
 
Off-Guards:
The Hardrockers also bring back plenty of experience at the guard position.
 
Led by two-time RMAC All-Conference First Team selection Ryan Weiss, the guard position should be one of the best in the RMAC for the Hardrockers. In 17 games last season, Weiss averaged 17.2 points per game, the 4^th most in the conference. Overall, Weiss shot 47.5% from the field and 43.3% from the three-point arc.

In addition to her, the Hardrockers bring back 3 women who were part of the roster last season, and a true freshman.
 
Bailey Johnson is heading into her second year as part of the program after transferring from Casper College in Wyoming. In her second year coming from Casper, Coach Jacobson is excited about her progress, "Is an incredibly feisty defender and has really worked on her offensive game this off-season and it shows."
 
Madelyn Heiser comes back after a freshman season in which she averaged over 5 points per game in 19 games, playing over 18 minutes per contest.
 
Kaydin Davis redshirted in 2020-21 but had a great high school career, earning All-Conference and All-State honors, and has shown improvement.
 
The true freshman coming in out of Washington is Piper Bauer and she can shoot the lights out and has been doing so all preseason long. She was selected to the All-Conference team in high school.
 
Forwards:
At the forward position, the Hardrockers return two players in Juneau Jones and Sydnee Durtsche.
 
Jones, a Rapid City native played a season at Casper College before joining the Hardrockers for the 2020-21 season. In just under 20 minutes per game last season, Jones averaged 5.9 points per game, while also chipping in over 4 rebounds per game. Jones also brings a lot to the table on the defensive side of the ball, earning a spot on the North All-Region IX Defensive Team in her season at Casper.
 
Durtsche played well in limited minutes last season, playing in 14 games but averaging just over 6 minutes per contest. "Sydnee Durtsche has made probably the most improvement on our entire team and is coming into her own right now," said Coach Jacobson.  

Post:
In the post is another area of strength coming into the season for the Hardrockers with Naomi Hidalgo, Makenna Bodette, Melissa Johnstone, each of whom was a significant contributor in 2020-21 return. In addition, Jansi Merz comes in as a 6'0 freshman looking to make an impact.
 
Makenna Bodette is heading into her senior season, but the second year with the Hardrockers as she spent two years with McCook Community College in Nebraska. Coach Jacobson commented, "Makenna has been playing out of her mind." She worked her tail off this summer and has blossomed with a year of experience."
 
Naomi Hidalgo has been a solid contributor for two seasons now and that is expected to continue as she started in 16 games last season, providing just under 10 points per game and over 6 rebounds per game to lead the team.

Melissa Johnstone is one of the vocal leaders of the team heading into her senior year after having her season cut short in 2020-21.
 
Jansi Merz is a 6'0 Center who earned accolades including All-Conference, All-State, All-Area and Team most improved in high school.
 
Schedule
The Hardrockers start the season off on the road with a pair of difficult opponents in Texas this weekend. On Friday they take on a West Texas A&M University team that is receiving votes in the preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 1:30. Following that they take on Texas Permian Basin on Saturday afternoon at 4:00.
 
The Hardrockers take on 6 opponents in their non-conference schedule, and they are no slouch with the two opponents mentioned above, plus tough NSIC foes in Northern State and the University of Sioux Falls coming to play at Goodell Gymnasium along with MSU Billings and Wayne State to finish off the non-conference slate. "We scheduled quite a few competitive opponents so we can be prepared for RMAC play and challenge ourselves early on" said Coach Jacobson.

A full Interview with Head Coach Jeri Jacobson is posted below.
 
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.