RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team looked to get back on the winning track Saturday night against Fort Lewis College at Whalen Gymnasium in Durango, Colo.
The Hardrockers did just that and broke a seven-game losing skid with an impressive 73-60 victory over the Skyhawks. South Dakota Mines had one of their best offensive performances of the season, trailing only once in the first couple of minutes of the game. The 'Rockers led by 11 points at the end of the first quarter, nine at halftime and 10 points going into the fourth quarter. The win put SD Mines at 6-14 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, while Fort Lewis fell to 9-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Fort Lewis took its only lead of the game at 5-4, the Hardrockers got going with a 13-1 run on two baskets by sophomore
Savea Mansfield, two straight 3-pointers by junior
Piper Bauer and another trey by sophomore
Lauren Herman for a 17-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Fort Lewis scored the first four points of the second quarter before South Dakota Mines answered on a basket by freshman
Morning Grace Spotted Bear. Again, the Skyhawks closed the gap and trailed by just 19-18 before a driving layup by senior
Naomi Hidalgo ended the drought. The game was tied at 23-23 with 6:38 to play until halftime before the 'Rockers scored five straight points – all by Hidalgo.
Leading 28-25, the 'Rockers went on a 13-4 run and led by as much as 12 points before Fort Lewis hit a late 3-pointer to make the score 41-32 at halftime. Bauer had five points in that run, while Spotted Bear added four points.
South Dakota Mines maintained a comfortable lead for much of the third with Hidalgo scoring four early points and Spotted Bear adding a layup to give the Hardrockers a 47-36 lead with 7:41 remaining in the quarter.
Bauer's first 3-pointer of the second half put SD Mines up by 14 before the Skyhawks answered with six straight points to clip the lead to under 10. Fort Lewis cut the lead to five with 1:38 remaining only to see the Hardrockers respond with two free throws by Mansfield and a 3-pointer by Bauer for a 58-48 advantage with one period to play.
In the fourth, sophomore
Alexis Backhaus scored her only points of the game on a 3-pointer, followed by another 3 by Bauer to put the Hardrockers up 66-50. A basket by Mansfield gave the 'Rockers their biggest lead at 18 points late before the Skyhawks closed on a 5-0 run to make the final score 73-60.
NOTES
Piper Bauer broke out of a little mini shooting slump with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 from the field, including 7-of-11 3-pointers. Her seven 3-pointers tied a career high and her 10 field goals were a season high. She also had eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in her 38 minutes of court time. The Hardrockers had three other players score in double figures as
Naomi Hidalgo had a strong game with 16 points and eight rebounds. She was 6-of-13 from the field, hitting 4-of-6 free throws.
Savea Mansfield finished with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws, along with three assists.
Morning Grace Spotted Bear added 10 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for a near triple-double, while
Alexis Backhaus also grabbed seven rebounds to go with her three points. As a team, the Hardrockers shot 44 percent from the field on 28-of-62, hitting 9-of-23 3-pointers and 8-of-10 free throws. The 73 points tied a season high – also against Fort Lewis on Jan. 5 and against Western Colorado a week later. South Dakota Mines had a season-high 19 assists and out-rebounded Fort Lewis 45-24
UP NEXT
South Dakota Mines closes its season next weekend when it hosts Chadron State Friday night at 5:30 p.m. and Colorado Christian University at 4 p.m. Saturday.
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.
