RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will look to get back on the winning side in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with one game this weekend.

The Hardrockers are 4-7 in the RMAC and will host Colorado State Pueblo Friday night with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m. at the King Center. The game marks the beginning of the second half of the conference season.

CSU Pueblo
Date/Time: Jan. 26 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: Goodell Gymnasium
Series Overall: CSU Pueblo leads 10-4.
Streak: CSU Pueblo Won 4
Series at South Dakota Mines: CSU Pueblo leads 3-2.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: CSU Pueblo Won 1
Last Meeting: CSU Pueblo won 79-57 in Pueblo, Colo. (12/15/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

MANSFIELD CLOSING IN AT DOUBLE DIGITS
Sophomore Savea Mansfield has scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time this season. Mansfield, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, is averaging 11.0 points a game in that span. Last weekend, Mansfield was 10-of-16 from the field, scoring 23 points. For the season, she is averaging 9.1 points a game, second on the team.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
Redshirt freshman Morning Grace Spotted Bear is becoming one of the top rebounders in the conference in the last month as four out of the last five games she has had double-digit rebounding. Last Saturday against Colorado Mesa, Spotted Bear had 12 rebounds, giving her 57 rebounds in her last five games, an average of 11.4 boards per game in that span. For the season with just eight starts in 17 games, Spotted Bear is averaging 6.6 points a game and her 6.4 rebounds per game, which is 12^th in the league.

PIPER IS ON FIRE
Junior Piper Bauer continues to lead the team in scoring at 16.8 points a game, sixth in the conference. She is shooting .402 (102-of-252) from the field, ninth in the conference. She is among the best in the conference from the land of 3, hitting 55-of-138 3-pointers for a .399 percentage, which is third in the RMAC. Her 55 3-pointers rank her fifth in the country and her 138 attempts are 12th in the nation. She is averaging 3.24 3-pointers goals per game, which ranks her second in the RMAC and fifth in the country.

MAXIMUM COURT TIME
Bauer sat for one minute Friday, the first time she has taken a rest on the bench in the last five games. Including the overtime game against Fort Lewis Jan. 5, she has played 204 minutes in her last five games.  She has been on the court for 622 minutes in 17 games, an average of 36.6 minutes per game, which ranks her first in the conference and 14th in the country.

BATTLING FOR OFFENSIVE BOARDS
As a team, the Hardrockers are seventh in the conference in offensive rebounding with 187, an average of 11.0 per game. Spotted Bear leads the team with 26 offensive boards. Mansfield and senior Madelyn Heiser right behind at 25 offensive rebounds each.

FREE POINTS
Although the Hardrockers didn't hit a free throw against Westminster (0-for-2), they bounced back against Colorado Mesa, hitting 7-of-10 from the line. Three players are shooting .800 or better for the season. Bauer leads the team at .813 (26-of-32), followed by sophomore Lauren Herman at .808 (21-of-26) and Mansfield at .800 (28-of-35).  As a team, the Hardrockers are shooting .680 (151-of- 222).

SCOUTING CSU PUEBLO
CSU Pueblo is 6-5 in the RMAC and 11-8 overall, winners of three straight games – 73-69 over MSU Denver, 84-64 over New Mexico Highlands, both in Pueblo, and 61-56 last Friday over Western Colorado on the road in Gunnison, Colo. The ThunderWolves are 8-2 at home, including the 79-57 win over the Hardrockers Friday, Dec. 15 in Pueblo. Pueblo is 2-3 on the road and 1-3 on a neutral court.

The ThunderWolves are led by 6-1 redshirt junior Alisha Little, who is averaging a double-double and leads the RMAC in scoring and rebounding at 19.4 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. Little also has 66 blocks, first in the league and 35 steals. Autumn Watts, a 6-1 redshirt junior, is averaging 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, followed by 6-1 freshman Leilani Love at 8.9 points and 4.1 rebounds a game and 5-9 junior Landri Hudson at 8.0 points a game. Tomina Johnson, a 5-6 junior, is averaging 6.1 points and 4.0 assists a game. As a team, CSU Pueblo is scoring 65.7 points a game, giving up 63.63 points per game.

UP NEXT
The Hardrockers remain at home against rival Black Hills State University Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 5:30 p.m., before hitting the road to face another rival, Chadron State College, Saturday, Feb., 3 at 1 p.m. in Chadron, Neb.

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.