RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team was looking to pull off the upset of #15/14 Colorado School of Mines Saturday night in Golden, Colo., but came up short in a battle that went down to the wire.
Junior
Piper Bauer moved over the 1,000-point mark in her career as the Hardrockers came back from a 21-point deficit in the first half to cut the lead to two late before the Orediggers held on for the 58-53 win. The loss dropped South Dakota Mines to 5-11 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play while Colorado School of Mines moved to 14-3 in league play and 19-4 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Orediggers dominated much of the opening quarter, running out to an 11-2 lead with 3:53 remaining in the first. Baskets by sophomore
Megan Alexander and freshman
Morning Grace Spotted Bear cut the lead to 13-6, but Colorado Mines outscored South Dakota Mines 5-2 down the stretch for an 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
It appeared the Orediggers would dominate for much of the second, stretching their lead to 30-10 as the Hardrockers got two free throws in the first minute and nothing again until Bauer hit a short jumper at the 4:10 mark. Colorado School of Mines responded with a 3-pointer, building its lead to 21.
The 'Rockers finally found their rhythm offensively and scored the quarter's final nine points on five points from sophomore
Lauren Herman and four from Alexander. The Orediggers still took a comfortable 33-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
South Dakota Mines took that late first-half momentum and chipped away at the Oredigger lead throughout the third quarter. Two layups by senior
Naomi Hidalgo cut the lead to 10 two minutes in, followed by baskets from Spotted Bear and sophomore
Savea Mansfield and a 3-pointer by Bauer to make it a 35-32 game with just under five minutes to play in the quarter.
Colorado Mines responded with nine unanswered points, but the Hardrockers answered on a 7-2 finish on baskets by Hidalgo and Bauer and a 3-pointer by sophomore
Alexis Backhaus. Colorado Mines took a 44-39 lead into the final quarter..
Bauer and Herman nailed 3-pointers to bring the Hardrockers closer early in the fourth at 48-45. The Orediggers hit for five straight points but a two-point basket by Backhaus and 3-pointers by Bauer and Hidalgo made it 55-53 with 50 seconds to play.
The Hardrockers could not get over the hump and the Orediggers took advantage of a turnover and missed 3-pointer late with the final three points and the 58-53 victory.
NOTES
Piper Bauer needed 12 points to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career and she finished with 17 to lead the Hardrockers. Bauer was 6-of-13 from the field, hitting 3-of-7 3-pointers and both of her free throws. She also had five rebounds and one steal.
Naomi Hidalgo was 4-of-6 from the field, including her second 3-pointer of the season, for nine points. She also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Lauren Herman added eight points, six rebounds and a steal.
Savea Mansfield also had six rebounds and
Alexis Backhaus had a career-high seven assists and five points. After shooting just 31 percent from the field in the first half, the Hardrockers shot 52 percent (13-of-25) in the second half, including 6-of-11 3-pointers. South Dakota Mines was just 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the game, to 12-of-14 for the Orediggers. The 'Rocker defense held Colorado Mines to just 32 percent shooting from the field (20-of-63), including 28 percent in the second half. The Hardrockers out-rebounded Colorado Mines 37-33 but had 23 turnovers. Colorado Mines scored 26 points off of those miscues.
UP NEXT
The Hardrockers are home for a pair of weekend contests, Friday, Feb. 16 against Regis University beginning at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 17 against Colorado Colorado Springs, beginning at 4 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.
