RAPID CITY, S.D. – Facing a top-two team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the second straight game, the South Dakota Mines women's basketball team was looking for the upset Saturday afternoon at the King Center.
The Hardrockers led the entire first half, up by as much as 12 points and trailed by just two points with 2:50 to play but fell to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs 66-56 in a game much closer than the final score. The loss dropped the Hardrockers to 5-13 in league play, while UCCS moved to 15-4 and is tied for first place in the conference with Regis University, Friday night's opponent for South Dakota Mines.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Making just her second start of the season, sophomore
Alexis Backhaus put the Hardrockers up early on a pair of 3-pointers. One free throw each by senior
Naomi Hidalgo and sophomore
Savea Mansfield gave SD Mines a 10-6 lead.
Three late points from freshman
Morning Grace Spotted Bear gave the 'Rockers a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Four points from Mansfield and a basket from Hidalgo put the Hardrockers up 19-12 and a bucket by Backhaus and a 3-pointer by junior
Piper Bauer made it a 26-14 game with 4:52 to play until halftime.
The Mountain Lions came roaring back and scored 10 unanswered points to cut the South Dakota Mines lead to 26-24 with 2:02 to play in the quarter. A 3-pointer by sophomore
Lauren Herman ended the drought for the Hardrockers and they took a 29-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Backhaus led the Hardrockers at halftime with eight points and Spotted Bear added seven points. As a team, South Dakota Mines was 10-of-26 from the field, hit 4-of-11 3-pointers and was 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.
UCCS came out in the third quarter and scored 11 quick points for a 35-29 lead before Bauer's lay-in ended the run at 7:30 to play in the quarter. Mansfield scored four points to cut the lead to 36-35, but UCCS responded with another 11-point run before Spotted Bear hit two late free throws to cut the lead to 47-37 with one quarter to play. The Mountain Lions outscored the Hardrockers 23-8 in the third quarter.
The 'Rockers regained early momentum to score the first seven points of the fourth quarter – all by Spotted Bear that featured a bullet pass from junior
Lily Peterson to set up a three-point play. The Mountain Lions came back with seven unanswered points to go back up by 10 before Mansfield's basket ended the run with 5:35 to play. South Dakota Mines then followed with a free throw by Backhaus and a basket by Hidalgo to cut the lead to five.
One free throw by Spotted Bear and three points Mansfield cut the lead to 56-54 with 2:50 remaining. That was close as the 'Rockers would get as UCCS responded with five straight points after South Dakota Mines had two missed two straight baskets.
Colorado Colorado Springs answered a Backhaus bucket with a 3-pointer to regain an eight-point lead with 25 seconds to play and never looked back for the 66-56 victory.
NOTES
Morning Grace Spotted Bear led the way for the Hardrockers with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 free throws. She also grabbed five rebounds and had two assists and one steal.
Savea Mansfield finished with 15 points on 4-of-6 from the field, 7-of-8 from the free-throw line and a team-high eight rebounds, along with two assists and one steal.
Alexis Backhaus also had a career night in scoring with 11 points on 4-of-10 from the field, 2-of-5 3-pointers and 1-of-2 free throws.
Piper Bauer had just five points but grabbed six rebounds and had two assists and three steals. As a team the Hardrockers shot 38 percent from the field on 19-of-38 attempts and just 22 percent from beyond the 3-point arc at 4-of-18. The 'Rockers were 14-of-18 from the free-throw line and out-rebounded the Mountain Lions 32-28 but committed 18 turnovers that led to 20 points for UCCS.
UP NEXT
South Dakota Mines hits the road next weekend for a pair of games in Colorado, taking on Adams State Friday, Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in Alamosa and Fort Lewis Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m. in Durango.
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.
