RAPID CITY, S.D – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team will look to get back on track this weekend with a pair of home games inside the King Center against two of the top teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Hardrockers, 5-11 in RMAC play, host Regis University Friday night at 5:30 p.m., before taking on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Saturday at 4 p.m. Both teams are in a three-way tie for second place in the conference, one game out of first.

Regis University                                                                                                                                            
Date/Time: Feb. 16 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center                                                                                                                   
Series Overall: Regis leads 14-0.                                                                                                         
Streak: Regis Won 14
Series at South Dakota Mines: Regis leads 6-0.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: Regis Won 6
Last Meeting: Regis won 79-50 in Denver, S.D. (12/2/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

Colorado Colorado Springs
Date/Time: Feb. 17 / 4 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center                                                                                                                                                   
Series Overall: UCCS leads 9-8.                                                                                                          
Streak: UCCS Won 2
Series at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines leads 5-3.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: UCCS Won 1
Last Meeting: UCCS won 80-43 in Colorado Springs, Colo. (12/1/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

PIPER KEEPS MOVING UP IN THE RANKINGS
Junior Piper Bauer continues to lead the team in scoring at 17.1 points a game, which is fifth in the conference. She is shooting .405 (138-of-341) from the field, 10th best in the conference and she is hitting 73-of-180 3-pointers for a .406 percentage, which is third in the RMAC. Her 73 3-pointers rank her first in the conference and fourth in the country and her 180 attempts are 11th in the nation. She is averaging 3.3 3-point goals per game, which is first in the RMAC and is third in the country. Bauer's 73 3-pointers this season gives her 228 in her career, good for third place all-time for the school. Current SD Mines assistant Ryan Weiss leads at 276, with Sami Steffeck second at 251.

BAUER HITS THE 1,000-POINT MARK                                                                                                                   
Bauer needed 12 points Saturday to reach the 1,000-point mark in her career with the Hardrockers and she scored 17 against the Orediggers, becoming the 31^st player in South Dakota Mines history to score over 1,000 points in a career. Bauer now has 1,005 points and currently stands in 29^th place. For her career, she is averaging 12.9 points a game in 74 games.

CAREER NIGHT AGAIN FOR SAVEA
Friday night against MSU Denver sophomore Savea Mansfield tied her career high of 19 points, along with 11 rebounds. It was her fourth double-double of the season. A 5-foot-11 sophomore, Mansfield is second on the team in scoring at 10.3 points a game. In her last eight games she is averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds a game.

SECOND-CHANCE OPPORTUNITIES                                                                                                                             
The Hardrockers finished with 21 offensive rebounds against MSU- Denver for 18 second-chance points and are currently seventh in the RMAC with 246 offensive boards, averaging 11.8 per game. Mansfield leads the team with 47, while senior Madelyn Heiser has 33 offensive rebounds, senior Naomi Hidalgo has 31 and freshman Morning Grace Spotted Bear has 30.

BATTLING ON THE BOARDS
Spotted Bear is still among the top rebounders in the conference, averaging 6.3 rebounds a game, good for 13^th place in the RMAC. In her last eight games she is averaging 8.0 rebounds a game. For the season, she is fourth on the team in scoring at 6.6 points a game.

BACKHAUS STEPS UP
Alexis Backhaus has stepped up of late, picking up seven assists in her most recent contest and playing 20+ minutes in each of the last three games. 

SCOUTING REGIS                                                                                                                                                       
The Rangers have lost two of their last four games but still sit in a good position to host a first-round playoff game at 13-4. Regis is 18-5 on the season and won its last time out, topping Westminster University 61-50 last Saturday in Denver. The Rangers fell to Colorado Mesa 62-51 on Friday, also at home. Before splitting their four games they had won 10 straight contests going back to mid-December.

The Rangers are led by 5-9 graduate student Josey Ryan at 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. She also leads the team in steals at 2.7 per game, which is fourth in the league. Athena Saragoza, a 5-8 junior, is right behind at 14.5 points a game and 5-10 senior Erin Fry is scoring 12.3 points and 5.5 assists a game, which is second in the RMAC. Sam Deem, a 6-1 graduate student, is scoring 9.3 points a game and leads the team in rebounding at 7.1 boards per outing. Madison Diercks, a 6-0 senior, is grabbing 6.9 rebounds a game and scoring 7.4 points per contest. As a team, the Rangers are second in the RMAC is scoring at 73.1 points a game and fourth in defensive scoring at 62.2 points per game.

SCOUTING COLORADO COLORADO SPRINGS
The Mountain Lions are also challenging for a home playoff berth at 13-4 in league play and stand at 16-7 overall. Colorado Colorado Springs has been among the hottest teams in the league as of late, winning five straight games and nine of its last 10. Last weekend the Lions defeated Westminster 69-56 and just got by Colorado Mesa 55-51. Their last loss was against Colorado Mines 77-68 on Jan. 20.

Maison White, a 6-0 junior, leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 13.3 points a game and she is third in the conference in rebounding at 9.0 rebounds a game. Amayah Moore Allen, a 5-8 junior, is also scoring in double figures at 11.7 points a game, while 5-6 sophomore Ryliee Ottman is scoring 8.6 points a game and 5-7 junior Krystine Hagood is at 8.2 points a game. Five more players are scoring between 4.7 and 5.6 points a game. As a team, the Mountain Lions are scoring 68.2 points a game and giving up 59.8 per game, which is third in the league.

UP NEXT
The Hardrockers hit the road for a pair of Colorado contests as they take on Adams State Friday, Feb. 23 in Alamosa at 5:30 p.m., followed by facing Fort Lewis Saturday, Feb. 23 in Durango 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.