RAPID CITY, S.D. --- South Dakota Mines women's basketball was back home Friday night to play the Griffins from Westminster College. The Hardrockers would win in a nail-biter 70-69 after being down as much as 10 points during the game. This was the second win in a row for the Rockers.
How it Happened – The first half went back and forth between the two teams, with South Dakota Mines first getting out to a 16-8 lead, before Westminster bounced back to take a 25-19 lead.
Alejandro Rama drove for a layup with 4:50 to play in the half, cutting the Westminster lead to four, 25-21.
Kolton Frugoli would follow Rama with a stepback jumper, briefly cutting the deficit to two, before a Griffin layup from Drake Middleton on the other end pushed it back to a four-point, Westminster lead. Going into the half, the Griffins would stretch the lead to eight, 31-23.
Early in the second half, the Hardrockers would start to build some momentum, going on a 10-2 run, cutting the Westminster lead to 41-39. Later, Westminster would expand it once again, getting a three-pointer from Taylor Miller and then going to the free throw line, where Trey Farrer hit one of two, and the lead was back to 7, 48-41 in favor of the Griffins. The two teams would start to struggle offensively, stuck at 56-50, advantage Westminster for three minutes until a jumper from Trey Farrer extend their lead to 8, going into the media timeout. The Hardrockers would continue to fight with Rama converting an and-1, cutting it to four, 62-58. With under two minutes to go the Hardrockers cut it to 2 on a
Brevin Walter mid-range jumper after two offensive rebounds. On the next possession, a
Keagen Smith three gave the 'Rockers a one-point lead. Westminster would answer before Walter would hit another two-pointer retaking the lead. The Griffins could not convert on the other end, then fouling
Kolton Frugoli who would hit both and the Hardrockers would escape with a 71-68 victory.
Notes – The Hardrockers had five scorers in double figures with
Kolten Mortensen leading the way with 17, followed by
Brevin Walter (16),
Alejandro Rama (14),
Kolton Frugoli, and
Keagen Smith (12)…Mortensen and Frugoli had nine and eight rebounds…Rama led the team with four assists.
Up Next – The Hardrockers will be back in action tomorrow evening, hosting Colorado Mesa University. The Tip-off will be at 6:00 PM.
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 10 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.
