RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will open the 2024 portion of its schedule as the Hardrockers return to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend with a pair of home contests at the King Center.

The Hardrockers, 2-4 in RMAC play, host Fort Lewis College Friday, Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m. and Adams State University Saturday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION

Fort Lewis College
Date/Time: Jan. 5 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center
Series Overall: Fort Lewis leads 5-4
Streak: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Series at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines leads 3-2.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines Won 1
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won 93-73 in Rapid City (02/18/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines/
 
Adams State University
Date/Time: Jan. 6 / 4 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center
Series Overall: South Dakota Mines leads 6-3.
Streak: Adams State Won 3
Series at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines leads 3-1.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: Adams State Won 1
Last Meeting: Adams State won 77-72 in Rapid City (02/17/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

FINDING HER RHYTHM
Redshirt freshman Morning Grace Spotted Bear is beginning to show well offensively and on the boards. In her last three games she is averaging 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. For the season and with just three starts in 11 games, Spotted Bear is averaging 5.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

CHARITY FROM THE STRIPE
In the last three games, the Hardrockers are shooting .803 (45-of-56) from the free-throw line and .781 (57-of-73) in the last five games. In the last two games junior Piper Bauer is 12-of-12 from the line and sophomore Savea Mansfield is 12-of-12 in the last five games. On the season, the Hardrockers are shooting .698 (113-of-162) from the free-throw line.

PIPER FROM DEEP
Bauer continues to have a hot hand from the outside for the Hardrockers. She leads the team in scoring at 15.3 points a game, seventh in the conference and is shooting .356 (64-of-180), eighth in the conference. She is among the best in the conference from the land of 3, hitting 36-of-99 3-pointers for a .364 percentage, which is sixth in the RMAC. Her 36 3-pointers rank her eighth in the country and her 99 attempts are 12th in the nation. She is averaging 3.0 3-pointers goals per game, which ranks her second in the RMAC and seventh in the country.

PLENTY OF COURT TIME
Bauer has been on the court for 418 minutes in 12 games, an average of 34.8 minutes per game, which ranks her third in the conference. Her 34.8 minutes a game is over seven minutes more than any other Hardrocker, with senior Madelyn Heiser second on the team, averaging 27.6 per game.

MANSFIELD LEADS THE WAY
Although she has started just six of 12 games, Mansfield, a 5-11 sophomore, leads the team in field-goal percentage at .478 (43-of-90), free-throw percentage at .828 (24-of-29) and she is third on the team in steals at 12. She is now nearing double figures in scoring at 9.6 points per game, second on the team. She is also second on the team in rebounding at 4.3 boards a game.

GRABBING THE OFFENSIVE BOARDS
As a team, the Hardrockers are fourth in the conference in offensive rebounding with 144, an average of 12.0 per game. Heiser, Mansfield and Spotted Bear all have 19 offensive boards to lead the team.

DISHING IT OUT
True freshman Emily Thomas continues to lead the team in assists with 31, averaging 2.6 per game which is 13th in the conference. The 5-10 point guard also has 34 rebounds in 11 games.

SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis is 4-1 in conference play and 7-4 on the season. The Skyhawks own league wins over Western Colorado (68-47), New Mexico Highlands (64-57), CSU Pueblo (65-59) and Westminster (58-52), the last three at home in Durango, Colo. Their lone loss was 76-56 to Adams State on Dec. 5. Last season the Skyhawks were 6-16 in league play and 9-19 on the season.

The Skyhawks have three players scoring in double figures and are led by 6-foot senior Kelsey Sorenson at 13.7 points a game (six games), while 5-7 sophomore Lanae Billy is averaging 13.0 points and 6-1 sophomore Kate Gallery is at 10.0 points a game. Billy also has 39 steals, an average of 3.5 per game, which leads the RMAC. Samantha Wattawa, a 5-10 junior, leads the team in rebounding at 6.1 boards a game while scoring 7.6 points per contest.

SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
Adams State is 5-0 in RMAC play and 10-3 on the season. The Grizzlies own wins over Western Colorado (71-69), Fort Lewis (76-56), CSU Pueblo 69-62, New Mexico Highlands 91-60 and Colorado Mesa 73-64. Adams State is 6-1 at home overall and 4-2 on the road and has played just two conference road games. Last season the Grizzlies were 16-6 and fourth in the RMAC and 21-9 overall.

The Grizzlies are led by 5-8 sophomore Harmanie Dominguez, who is second in the RMAC is scoring at 18.4 points a game. She also tops the conference in 3-point shooting, hitting 51-of-109 (.468), which is 13th in the country and she leads the league in 3-pointers per game at 3.9, tops in the country. Dominguez also is averaging 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game. Riahana Davis, a 5-8 junior, is averaging 12.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game, while 5-5 junior Angelline Nageak is scoring 9.9 points a game and 3.5 assists a game, which is seventh in the conference. Elaina Watson, a 5-7 junior, is averaging 9.5 points a game and 5-7 sophomore Kiiyani Anitielu is averaging 8.8 points a game.

LOOKING AHEAD
South Dakota Mines returns to RMAC play at home in the King Center against Western Colorado Friday, Jan. 12 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.