RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will look to stay on the winning side this weekend with a pair of road Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contests.

The Hardrockers, winners of two straight games and 4-5 in the RMAC, will be in Salt Lake City, Utah Friday, Jan. 19 against Westminster University at 5 p.m., before facing Colorado Mesa University Saturday, Jan. 20 in Grand Junction, Colo., with tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

Westminster University
Date/Time: Jan. 19 / 5 p.m. MT
Site: Salt Lake City, Utah.
Arena: Brehnken Field House
Series Overall: Westminster leads 8-2
Streak: South Dakota Mines has won 1
Series at Westminster: Westminster leads 5-0
Streak at Westminster: Westminster has won 5
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won 70-69 in Rapid City, S.D. (01/13/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

Colorado Mesa University
Date/Time: Jan. 20 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Grand Junction, Colo.
Arena: Brownson Arena.
Series Overall: Colorado Mesa leads 9-0
Streak: Colorado Mesa has won 9
Series at Westminster: Westminster leads 4-0
Streak at Westminster: Westminster has won 4
Last Meeting: Colorado Mesa won 68-61 in Rapid City, S.D. (01/14/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines
 
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
Redshirt freshman Morning Grace Spotted Bear is coming off three straight games of double-digit rebounding with 14 rebounds against Western Colorado. She now has 39 rebounds in her last three games. In her last five games she is averaging 10.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. For the season with just six starts in 14 games, Spotted Bear is averaging 6.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

IMPROVED SHOOTING GAME
The Hardrockers scored over 20 points in each of the second and third quarters last weekend against Western Colorado. On Friday, South Dakota Mines scored 24 points in the second quarter on 10-of-15 shooting (67 percent) from the field, including2-of-4 3-pointers and 23 points in the third quarter on 9-of-15 (60 percent) shooting from the field, hitting 3-of-4 3-pointers.). For the game, the Hardrockers hit 30-of-63 (48 percent) from the field, with a blazing 9-of-16 (56 percent) 3-pointers.

PIPER IS ON FIRE
Junior Piper Bauer is coming off a three-game homestand scoring 74 points (24 ppg.), including a career-high 30 points against Adams State and 26 points last Friday against Western Colorado. Bauer continues to lead the team in scoring at 17.1 points a game, sixth in the conference. She is shooting .404 (91-of-225) from the field, ninth in the conference. In her last three games, Bauer is 27-of-45 from the field for 60%. She is among the best in the conference from the land of 3, hitting 51-of-126 3-pointers for a .405 percentage, which is fourth in the RMAC. In her last three games, she has hit 15-of-27 3-pointers (55%), including 6-of-8 against Western Colorado. Her 51 3-pointers rank her fifth in the country and her 126 attempts are 11th in the nation. She is averaging 3.4 3-pointers goals per game, which ranks her second in the RMAC and third in the country.

MAXIMUM COURT TIME
In her last three games, Bauer played in all 125 minutes. She has been on the court for 543 minutes in 15 games, an average of 36.2 minutes per game, which ranks her first in the conference and 22nd in the country. Her 36.2 minutes a game is over six minutes more than any other Hardrocker, with senior Madelyn Heiser second on the team, averaging 29.9 per game.

GRABBING THE OFFENSIVE BOARDS
As a team, the Hardrockers are seventh in the conference in offensive rebounding with 173, an average of 11.5 per game. Heiser and Spotted Bear both have 24 offensive boards to lead the team and sophomore Savea Mansfield has 23.

CHARITY FROM THE STRIPE
Although the Hardrockers struggled from the free-throw line (4-of-9) in the big win over Colorado Western, three players are shooting .800 or better for the season. Mansfield leads the team at .839 (26-of-31), sophomore Lauren Herman is at .808 (21-of-26) and Bauer is at .800 (24-of-30). As a team, the Hardrockers are shooting .686 (144-of- 210)..

SCOUTING WESTMINSTER
Westminster is 0-9 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play and 2-13 overall. The Griffins two wins are at home against one team -- the University of Alaska Fairbanks, 65-57 and 74-59 on Nov. 17-18. Since then they have dropped 11 straight games, including a 62-61 heartbreaker last Saturday against Chadron State College in Chadron, Neb. On Friday, Westminster fell to Colorado Christian 76-55 in Lakewood, Colo.

The Griffins are led by sophomore guard Teuila Nawahine, who is scoring 13.6 points a game and grabbing 4.8 rebounds per contest. Elizabeth Means is scoring 9.3 points a game, followed by Jaycee Lichtie and Za'kkria Robinson at 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds and 9.0 points and 5.8 rebounds a game respectively. Maunayia Harrigfield is scoring 7.1 points and leading the team at 9.1 rebounds a game, fourth in the RMAC. As a team, the Griffins are averaging 53 points a game while giving up 65.

SCOUTING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks are 6-3 in the RMAC, standing in fourth place and 12-4 overall. Mesa is coming off a tough 65-63 loss to Colorado Christian Saturday in Lakewood. The previous night the Mavericks ran past Chadron State 70-49 in Chadron. In the last two weeks Colorado Mesa has won three of four and are a perfect 6-0 at home for the season in Brownson Arena.

The Mavericks are led by 6-0 sophomore Olivia Reed, who is averaging a double-double at 17.4 points and 11.1 rebounds a game, which ranks her fourth in the RMAC in scoring and second in rebounding. She is also averaging 2. 5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. Mason Rowland is also averaging 15.4 points and 5.1 rebounds a game, while Laura Gutierrez and Jose Steadman are both scoring 8.1 points a game. Kylie Kravig leads the RMAC is assists at 6.1 dishes per game. As a team, the Mavericks are averaging 70 points a game while giving up 59 per outing.

COMING UP
The Hardrockers return home to the King Center, Friday, Jan. 26 against CSU Pueblo at 5:30 p.m., before hosting rival Black Hills State University Wednesday, Jan. 31, also at 5:30 p.m.

Fans can find the latest on South Dakota Mines women's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockerwbb), while also following on Facebook at South Dakota Mines Women's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.

ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines 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.