RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team hits the road this weekend for the final time this season as it takes on Adams State and Fort Lewis in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.

The Hardrockers, 5-13 in league play, will look for the season sweep of Adams State University and a split at Fort Lewis College from the earlier-season overtime loss. South Dakota Mines takes on Adams State Friday, Feb. 23 in Alamosa, Colo., at 5:30 p.m., followed by facing Fort Lewis Saturday, Feb. 23 in Durango at 4 p.m.

Adams State University                                                                                                                                            
Date/Time: Feb. 23 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Alamosa, Colo.
Arena: Plachy Hall.                                                                                                                               
Overall Series: South Dakota Mines leads 7-3.                                                           
Streak: South Dakota Mines won 1.
Series at Adams State: South Dakota Mines leads 3-1.
Streak at Adams State: Adams State won 1.
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won 67-62 in Rapid City, S.D. (1/6/24)   
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines                                                    

Fort Lewis College
Date/Time: Feb. 24 / 4 p.m. MT
Site: Durango, Colo.
Arena: Whalen Gymnasium.                                                                                                                                                
Overall Series: Fort Lewis leads 6-4.                                                                               
Streak: Fort Lewis Won 1.
Series at Fort Lewis: Fort Lewis leads 3-1.                                                                                              
Streak at Fort Lewis: Fort Lewis Won 1.
Last Meeting: Fort Lewis won 77-73 in overtime in Rapid City, S.D. (1/5/24).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

CAREER GAME FOR ALEXIS                                                                                                
Alexis Backhaus made her second start of the season and career Saturday night against Colorado Colorado Springs. After missing her first 3-pointer, the 5-10 sophomore hit two straight treys to lift the Hardrockers to a 10-6 lead. She finished with a career-high 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and 2-of-5 3-pointers. Backhaus finished with nine career highs in the game, including minutes (38), field goals made, field goal attempts, 3-point field goals made, 3-point field goal attempts, free throws made (1), free throw attempts (2) and blocks (1).

DITTO FOR MORNING GRACE  
Morning Grace Spotted Bear, a 6-0 redshirt freshman, stepped up in a big way Saturday against UCCS with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. She also had career highs in field goals made, free throws made and free throws attempted. Spotted Bear is scoring 7.0 points a game, third on the team and leads the Hardrockers in rebounding at 6.3 boards a game.

AMONG THE BEST REBOUNDERS
Despite having just two regulars standing 6-0 and 6-1, the Hardrockers have moved up to fifth place in the overall team rebounding margin in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. South Dakota Mines is averaging 35.0 rebounds per game, giving up 32.8 a contest for a 2.2 rebounding margin. The 'Rockers are seventh in the conference in offensive boards at 10.9 per game and 10^th in defensive rebounds at 24.1 a game.                                                           

PIPER IN THE RANKINGS
Junior Piper Bauer continues to lead the team in scoring at 16.4 points a game, which is seventh in the conference. She is shooting .392 (146-of-372) from the field, 10th best in the conference and she is hitting 74-of-196 3-pointers for a .378 percentage, which is fourth in the RMAC. Her 74 3-pointers rank her second in the conference and seventh in the country and her 196 attempts are 11th in the nation. She is averaging 3.1 3-point goals per game, which is second in the RMAC and is third in the country. Bauer's 74 3-pointers this season gives her 229 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.

CONTRIBUTING IN OTHER WAYS                                                                                  
Although Bauer had an off weekend shooting the basketball, she lit up the stat sheet in other ways. On Friday against Regis University, she finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Against Colorado Colorado Springs, she had six rebounds and three steals. In her last three games she has 18 rebounds and nine assists.

MANSFIELD IS CONSISTENT ON THE COURT
Sophomore Savea Mansfield, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and eight of the last 10 games. She is second on the team in scoring at 10.4 points a game. Mansfield is shooting.468 from the field (95-of-203), which leads the team, and she has hit 9-of-33 3-pointers and 50-of-59 (.847) from the free-throw line, which leads the team. She is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, third on the team.

SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
The Grizzlies are in fifth place in the RMAC standings at 14-4 and stand 19-7 overall. Adams State has won five straight games, including a big 100-54 victory over Western Colorado last Friday. In that game they hit 17-of-32 3-pointers, which lifted them to a school record 192 3-pointers on the season. Earlier in the week the Grizzlies beat Fort Lewis 87-61. In Rapid City on Jan. 6, the Hardrockers upset then No. 22 Adams State 67-62.

The Grizzlies are led by 5-8 sophomore Harmanie Dominguez, who is averaging 17.9 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. Dominguez leads the RMAC in 3-point shooting, hitting 84-of-204 3-pointers. Riahana Davis, a 5-8 junior, is second in scoring at 12.6 points a game, along with 4.7 rebounds. Kiyani Anitielu, a 5-7 sophomore, is also scoring in double figures at 11.7 points a game, followed by 5-5 junior Angelline Nageak at 9.3 points a game, 5-7 junior Elina Watson at 8.6 points a game and 5-10 senior Kayla Harris at 7.3 points per contest. As a team, the Grizzlies are 74.76 points a game, giving up 66.52 per game.

SCOUTING FORT LEWIS  
The Skyhawks are 9-9 in the RMAC and 12-12 overall, defeating the Hardrockers earlier in the season in Rapid City 77-73 in overtime. Last week Fort Lewis defeated Western Colorado 75-66 but lost to Adams State 87-61. The Skyhawks have lost four of their last five games and have dropped to ninth place in the standings, one game behind Colorado Christian and CSU Pueblo.

Lanae Billy, a 5-7 sophomore, leads the team in scoring at 16.4 points a game with 66 3-pointers this season. Kelsey Sorenson, a 6-0 senior, is averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while 6-1 sophomore Kate Gallery is scoring 9.0 points a game and 5-10 junior Samantha Wattawa is scoring 7.5 points a game and grabbing 6.1 rebounds per contest. Avery Evans is scoring 7.1 points per game. As a team, the Skyhawks are averaging 66.21 points and giving up 64.83 points a game.

UP NEXT
The Hardrockers close the regular season at home Friday, March 1 against Chadron State and Saturday, March 2 against Colorado Christian.

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.