Oredigger women reach 20-win mark for first time in program history with an 81-69 victory at Chadron State

CHADRON, Neb. – The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team posted a 81-69 victory over Chadron State at Armstrong Gym on Saturday evening in its final Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season contest.

The win over the Eagles was the Orediggers 20th of the season which established a new program record for most wins in a season eclipsing the mark of 19 wins set during both the 2008-09 and 2004-05 seasons.

Up by 10 after a layup by Angie Charchalis, the Eagles went on a 12-1 run to take a one-point lead after a pair of free throws by Kelsey Scott with 7:45 left in the first half. Chadron State led by as many as four points but the game remained tied for the seventh time at the break.

Kelsey Crist nailed a three with just under the 15 minute left in the second half and two minutes later CSM’s lead grew to nine points. Ahead by 11 points with 8:50 remaining in the game Mines led by double digits the rest of the way outscoring Chadron State 22 to 4 in the paint in the second half.

Chadron State (8-19, 8-11 RMAC) was held to just 32.8 % shooting from the field and 22.7 % from the three-point line. Kaitlin Petri finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Kelsey Scott added 15 points while Alyssa Lyman made four three pointer to contribute 14 points.

CSM finished the game shooting 50.0 % from the field including 54.8 % in the second half. Emily Dalton, who now ranks second all-time in career scoring at Mines, finished with 12 points (5-for-10 FG), three rebounds and three steals. Savannah Afoa contributed 10 points (5-for-7 FG), four rebounds and three blocks. Brecca Gaffney added 10 points and eight rebounds while Stephanie Fogle chipped in with 10 points and two assists. Kait Soehner (two assists) and Crist (seven rebounds) each added nine points. Charchalis finished with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Orediggers (20-7, 14-5 RMAC), who earned the #2 seed in the East Division, will host the #3 seed Metro State in the Quarterfinal round of the RMAC Shootout on Tuesday, March 2nd, at 6:00pm.

Following the Quarterfinals, the highest-remaining seed from the East Division will face the lowest-remaining seed from the West Division in one Semifinal, and the highest remaining seed from the West Division will play the lowest-remaining seed from the East Division in the other Semifinal on March 5th.  The RMAC Shootout Championship game will be held on March 6th.

The RMAC Shootout Semifinals (3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) and Championship (7:30 p.m.) will be held on Friday and Saturday, March 5th and 6th, at the Colorado State Fair Events Center in Pueblo, Colo.  CLICK HERE for the women's RMAC Shootout bracket.

B2 Networks will carry live video of the RMAC Shootout Quarterfinals and Semifinals for $8 per game (season passes are not valid for the RMAC Shootout).  The RMAC Shootout Championship Game will not be available on B2 Networks due to prior contractual agreements with the Altitude Sports & Entertainment Network.  CLICK HERE for the B2 Networks link for the women's RMAC Shootout.

Altitude Sports & Entertainment will air the women's RMAC Shootout Championship Game live on ALTITUDE 2 at 7:30 p.m. (MST) on March 6th.  Additionally, several tape delay re-broadcasts will air on ALTITUDE.  CLICK HERE for more information.  Below is the television broadcast schedule for the women's RMAC Shootout Championship Game.

Live Broadcast Schedule
Saturday, March 6th - 7:30 p.m. (Altitude 2)

Tape Delay Re-Broadcast Schedule
Sunday, March 7th - 2:00 p.m. (Altitude)
Monday, March 8th - 3:00 p.m. (Altitude)
Monday, March 8th - 11:00 p.m. (Altitude)

In Denver, ALTITUDE 2 is available on Comcast 5, DirecTV 682 and Dish Network 451.  ALTITUDE is available on Comcast 25, DirecTV 681 and Dish Network 410 in Denver.  CLICK HERE to find out which channels ALTITUDE and ALTITUDE 2 are on in your area.

The winner of the RMAC Shootout will receive an automatic berth as one of the eight teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament, which will be held on Friday, Saturday and Monday, March 12th, 13th and 15th (location is yet to be announced).

The eight-team bracket for the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament will be announced during a webcast selection show at www.ncaa.com on Sunday, March 7th.

-- OREDIGGERS --