RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play still searching for their first win of the season with a pair of road games this weekend.
The 0-5 Hardrockers will be at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Friday night and in Denver to face Regis University Saturday afternoon.
GAME INFORMATION
University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Date/Time: Dec. 1 / 5:00 p.m. MT
Site: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Arena: Gallogy Events Center
Series Overall: UCCS leads 7-5.
Streak: UCCS Won 1
Last Meeting: UCCS won in Colorado Springs, 53-52. (2/11/2023).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
Regis University
Date/Time: Dec. 2 / 3:00 p.m. MT
Site: Denver, Colo.
Arena: Regis Field House
Series overall: Regis leads 14-0.
Streak: Regis Won 14
Last Meeting: Regis won in Denver, 85-64 (2/10/2023).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
FIREPOWER OFF THE BENCH
Savea Mansfield, a 5-11 sophomore, is first off the bench and is second in scoring at 9.2 points a game, fourth in minutes played at 24.4 per game and third in rebounding at 4.0 per contest. She has scored in double figures twice, wracking 14 points against Texas Permian-Basin on Nov. 10 and 11 points against Northern State on Nov. 17.
FIRST START AS A HARDROCKER
Redshirt freshman forward Morning Grace Spotted Bear, who missed all of last season with an injury, earned her first start of her career Monday against Black Hills State. Spotted Bear, at 6 feet, had a combined 29 minutes of play and scored six points in her first three games. In the most recent contest, however, she played 35 minutes against the Yellow Jackets, scoring nine points, grabbing four rebounds, dishing out four assists and blocking one shot.
PIPER FOR THREE
Junior Piper Bauer, a 5-7 junior, continues to not only be the lone Hardrocker to average double figures in points (15.6 points per game), but she is also one of the top outside threats in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, as she is shooting .400 from beyond the 3-point arc (16-of-40). The rest of the team has hit 15-of-48 3-pointers. She has hit 29-of-71 shots from the field overall (.408) and leads the team in minutes played at 35.6 per game.
RUNNING THE SHOW
Freshman Emily Thomas, at 5-10, has stepped into the point guard position and leads the team in assists with 14. Thomas had half of her season total in assists (seven) against Texas Permian-Basin in the opener on Nov. 10.
SCOUTING UCCS
The Mountain Lions go into RMAC play splitting six games, as they have defeated Midwestern State 83-65, Point Loma 72-66 and Baptist Bible College 85-43. They are coming off a tough 57-48 loss to Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, Nov. 25 in Colorado Springs.
Last season Colorado Springs finished 9-13 in RMAC play and 10-18 overall. The Mountain Lions split with the Hardrockers, losing 80-72 in the King Center but winning 53-52 on their home court.
Maison White, a 6-foot junior, leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 14.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. White is shooting .593 from the field but has not attempted a 3-pointer this season. Krystina Hagood, a 5-7 junior, is also scoring in double figures at 11.0 per game, while 5-6 sophomore Rylie Ottman is scoring 9.2 points a game and leads the team in steals with 10.
SCOUTING REGIS
The Rangers, picked first in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, are off to a 5-1 start in non-conference play, defeating Cameron University 73-51 Saturday in the Thanksgiving Classic in Golden, Colo. Earlier in that tournament, the Rangers suffered their lone loss of the season, 84-61 to No. 10/12 Montana State University Billings. Regis did play UCCS in a non-conference game, beating the Mountain Lions 71-55 on Nov. 20 in Colorado Springs.
Last season the Rangers finished 19-3 in RMAC play, good for first in the RMAC regular season, and 25-7 overall. In the conference tournament, Regis beat No. 8 seed Colorado State-Pueblo 72-57, No. 4 seed Adams State 81-73 and won the conference tournament with a 65-61 win over No. 2 seed Colorado School of Mines. In the NCAA Tournament, the Rangers were upset by Black Hills State 61-57 in San Angelo, Texas.
The Rangers are a perfect 14-0 against the Hardrockers in their season history, including an 85-64 win in Denver and a 77-48 win in Rapid City.
Regis returns 12 players from last year's squad, including Erin Fry, a 5-10 senior, who was the RMAC Player of the Year last season. Fry is averaging 12.0 points a game this season and 5.3 assists per game. Leading the team in scoring is 5-9 graduate student Josey Ryan, scoring at 16.7 points a game, shooting .467 from the field and hitting 14 3-pointers.
Also scoring in double figures is 6-1 graduate student Sam Deem at 11.8 per game, leading the team in rebounding at 7.2 boards per contest, and 5-8 junior Athena Saragoza, 11.2 points per game.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following the weekend, the Hardrockers open their home conference slate in the King Center on Friday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. against Colorado School of Mines and Saturday, Dec. 9, against MSU Denver.
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 13 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.
