RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team, fresh off beating Fort Lewis College on the road, closes its season with a pair of home contests this weekend at the King Center.

The Hardrockers, 6-14 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, host rival Chadron State College Friday, March 1 at 5:30 p.m. and Colorado Christian University Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m. Saturday's game will also be Senior Night as the Hardrockers will honor Madelyn Heiser, Naomi Hidalgo and Lily Peterson. While just a junior, Peterson will graduate. 

Chadron State College                                                                                                       
Date/Time: March 1 / 5:30 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center.                                                                                                                             
Overall Series: Chadron State leads 37-35
Streak: Chadron State Won 1
Series at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines leads 8-2.
Streak at South Dakota Mines: Chadron State Won 1
Last Meeting: Chadron State won 70-67 in Chadron, Neb. (2/3/24).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines                                                      

Colorado Christian University
Date/Time: March 2 / 4 p.m. MT
Site: Rapid City, S.D.
Arena: King Center.                                                                                                                             
Overall Series: South Dakota Mines leads 7-3
Streak: South Dakota Mines won 2.
Series at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines Won 4   
Streak at South Dakota Mines: South Dakota Mines Won 4                                                       
Last Meeting: South Dakota Mines won 61-57 in Lakewood, Colo. (2/25/23).
Watch Live: RMAC Network | www.rmacnetwork.com/sdmines

PIPER FINDS HER FORM
After a couple of weeks of shooting struggles, junior Piper Bauer found her form again in the win over Fort Lewis. Bauer was 10-of-16 from the field and tied a career high by hitting 7-of-11 from 3-point land for 27 points. For the weekend, she hit 11-of-20 3-pointers. Bauer continues to lead the team in scoring at 16.7 points a game, which is sixth in the conference. She is shooting .397 (160-of-403) from the field, 12th best in the conference and she is hitting 85-of-216 3-pointers for a .394 percentage, which is second in the RMAC. Her 85 3-pointers rank her second in the conference and fourth in the country and her 216 attempts are eighth in the nation. She is averaging 3.27 3-point goals per game, which is second in the RMAC and is fifth in the country. Bauer's 85 3-pointers this season gives her 240 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.

CONSISTENCY COUNTS FOR MANSFIELD
Sophomore Savea Mansfield has scored in double figures in 17 games this season and 10 of the last 12 games. She is second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points a game and is shooting .475 from the field (106-of-223), which leads the team. She is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, good for second on the team.

DOUBLES FOR THE ENTIRE STARTING LINEUP
Despite the loss to Adams State, all five of the Hardrocker starters scored in double figures. Mansfield and freshman Morning Grace Spotted Bear led the way with 13 points each, followed by Bauer with 12 points, sophomore Alexis Backhaus with 11 and senior Naomi Hidalgo with 10. In fact, the South Dakota Mines starting lineup scored all but two points of the team scoring.
 
SHARP FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE                                                                                 
The Hardrockers had another outstanding weekend shooting from the free-throw line, hitting 8-of-10 against Fort Lewis and 14-of-18 against Adams State for 22-of-28 in the two games, a .786 percentage. Hidalgo was 8-of-10 in the two games. For the season, Bauer leads the way at 28-of-34 (.824), Mansfield at .821 (55-of-67) and sophomore Lauren Herman at 27-of-35 (.771). As a team, South Dakota Mines is shooting .715 (231-of-323), which is 10^th in the conference.

AMONG THE BEST REBOUNDERS                                                                                        
The Hardrockers continue to be in fifth place in the overall team rebounding margin in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. South Dakota Mines is averaging 35.7 rebounds per game, giving up 32.5 a contest for a 3.2 rebounding margin. The 'Rockers have moved up in the conference in offensive boards at 11.2 per game and 10^th in defensive rebounds at 24.5 a game.    

BAUER BATTLING FOR BOARDS                                                                                          
Bauer has upped her season rebounding to 3.6 boards per game after grabbing 35 rebounds in the last five games. She snagged 17 rebounds last weekend, eight against Fort Lewis and a season-high nine rebounds against Adams State.                                               

SCOUTING CHADRON STATE
The Eagles have lost six straight games and stand at 4-16 in RMAC play and 6-18 overall. In fact, they have not won since slipping past the Hardrockers 70-67 on Feb. 3 at the Chicoine Center in Chadron. Last weekend Chadron State dropped a pair of games at home, 78-60 to MSU Denver and 83-72 to Colorado School of Mines. For the season, the Eagles are averaging 61.57 points a game but giving up 71.48 points per contest.                                                                                                                                                

Ashayla Powers is the lone Eagle to average in double figures in scoring at 12.7 points a game, shooting ,535 from the field. She also leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 boards a game. Megan Counts is at 8.1 points a game, followed by Allison Olsen at 7.6 points and 4.0 rebounds a game and Kyle Krise at 7.5 points a game. Liberty Line is scoring 7.2 points per game, including 15 in the first game against the Hardrockers.

SCOUTING COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Colorado Christian is 12-8 in the RMAC, tied for sixth place with Black Hills State and 16-10 on the season. Colorado Christian was ranked 10^th in the recent South Central Regional poll. The Cougars have won three straight games and six of their last seven. Last weekend Christian knocked off Colorado School of Mines 71-68 and ran past MSU Denver 66-52. As a team the Cougars are fourth in the league in scoring at 70.96 points per game, while giving up 67.35.

The Cougars are led by 6-1 sophomore Maggie Hutka, who is second in the RMAC in scoring at 20.2 points a game, as well as grabbing 7.3 rebounds a game. Nicole Bowling is scoring 10.0 points a game, while shooting .432 from beyond the 3-point arc and .532 overall. She leads the team in assists with 89. Dasiya Jones, a 6-1 junior, is scoring 9.3 points a game and leads the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game. Victoria Perez, Maggie Phipps and Regan LoConte are all scoring over 8.0 points per game.

FOLLOW THE HARDROCKERS
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.