GUNNISON, Colo. – South Dakota Mines Women's Basketball dropped a road contest 61-73 at Western Colorado.
The Mountaineers outscored the Hardrockers 19-13 in the first quarter. With a 9-2 lead in hand, Western Colorado hit two consecutive three-pointers to make it a one-point game. Their next three shots made were three-pointers, giving them a 17-13 lead. The Mountaineers made five shots from beyond the arc in the first.
Western Colorado had it all working in the second quarter after they outscored the Hardrockers 27-19. After a
Morning Grace Spotted Bear three-pointer to start the quarter, the Mountaineers went on an 8-0 run to go up 27-16. With 2:02 left in the half, they went up 41-26. The Mountaineers held a 46-32 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, South Dakota Mines attempted a comeback, outscoring Western Colorado 14-11. The Hardrockers went on a 9-0 run midway through the quarter to make the score 45-54. South Dakota Mines trailed 46-57 at the end of the quarter.
The Hardrockers fell 61-73 after being outscored 16-15 in the fourth quarter. A
Samantha Darnell layup midway through the quarter brought the score down to 54-62. The Mountaineers closed out the game with a 7-0 run near the end of the quarter to win 73-61.
Savea Mansfield put up her eighth 20+ point game of the season with 20 points, four rebounds and 6-for-12 field goal shooting. Spotted Bear recorded 13 points, three rebounds and two steals.
Emma Martin tallied 12 points for the Hardrockers.
South Dakota Mines shot 38% from the field, 31.6% from beyond the arc and 85% from the free throw line. They collected 23 points off 19 turnovers and 22 points in the paint.
With the loss, the Hardrockers moved to 6-11 overall and 4-5 in the RMAC.
What's Next
South Dakota Mines is at Westminster on Saturday at 1 p.m. They will face Chadron State at home on Jan. 29 at 5:30 p.m.
