PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 8 Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team defeated Colorado State University Pueblo 61-45 on Friday night at Massari Arena. The Orediggers pulled away in the second half with a high shooting percentage in the third quarter and cruised to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory.

With the setback, the ThunderWolves fall to 8-8 overall and 3-5 in the RMAC, while Mines improved to 13-1 overall and remained undefeated in RMAC play with an 8-0 record.
 
The Pack return to action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m as they host MSU Denver for another RMAC contest. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Redshirt junior forward Alisha Little (Aurora, Colo./Northern Colorado) recorded another double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Little leads all of Division II with 11 double-doubles. She also recorded five blocks in the win. 

- Junior guard Landri Hudson (Aurora, Colo./Univ. of Wyoming) had a solid game scoring 11 points and shooting 50 percent (3-for-6) from behind the arc. 

- Junior guard Tomia Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Florida Gulf Coast) had six points, dished out an assist and recorded a rebound, while graduate student guard Romola Dominguez (Denver, Colo./Central Arkansas) added five points and junior guard Shamahra Henderson (Denver, Colo./Cowley County CC) and junior guard Yara Garcia (Scottsbluff, Neb./Western Nebraska CC) each tallied four points each. 

- The Pack shot 31 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range against the nationally-ranked Orediggers. CSU Pueblo assisted on 11 of their 16 made baskets in the game, with Dominguez leading the way with four assists.

- Mines outscored the Pack 24-16 in the paint and also outscored the Pack 15-11 on points off turnovers.
 
HEAD COACH TOMMIE JOHNSON AFTER THE GAME 
On his teams play: "We played well in the first half, but we shot ourselves in the foot too many times. We played hard, but we just cannot do that to ourselves. Too many mistakes."
 
On the teams shooting: "We got up and down the floor well tonight. I thought we shared the ball well and got out in transition, but did not make any shots. We got plenty of good looks, but at the end of the day you must make shots and we did not do that."

Looking ahead to tomorrow's match-up vs. MSU Denver: "We are going to have to be ready to go. I know our girls will bounce back. They are a tough group over there (MSU Denver), and well coached by Coach (Tanya) Haave."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED.
The Pack started the game off strong, jumping out to a lead in the first quarter after all five starters got in on the action. Little and Hudson were very efficient along with a very active Johnson. The Pack defense swarmed the Orediggers in the opening stanza, holding the top scoring offense in the RMAC to just 13 points. The Pack trailed 13-11 after the opening 10 minutes.
 
While the Pack hung tough in the first half, the even keeled squad from Mines pulled out in front with a 9-0 run in the second quarter and took a 25-15 lead into the break. A very poised Mines backcourt of Jessica Rios and Josephine Howery directed the Orediggers' offense and Mines took a 10-point lead into halftime. Rios paced the Orediggers with 16 points, while Howery added 14 points in the win. 
 
The ThunderWolves shot 40 percent in the first half on 9-of-23 shooting and shot 44 percent from three on 4-of-9 from behind the arc. The Pack defense kept the Orediggers in check in the first quarter, allowing Mines to shoot just 26 percent from the field, but struggled in the second quarter, allowing Mines to shoot 67 percent from the field. 
 
CSU Pueblo trimmed the Mines lead to eight points midway through the third quarter, but that was as close as the Pack would get. The Orediggers went on a 10-1 run to end the quarter get the lead back to 17 after shots made from their leading scorer Ashley Steffeck. Steffeck continued to be effective in the low post, crashing the boards and causing problems for CSU Pueblo. Steffeck, who entered the game averaging nearly 18 points per game on the season, was held to 13 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double in the win.
 
With the lead at 17 to start the fourth all the Orediggers needed to do was cruise home. Back-to-back three-pointers to start the fourth from Dominguez and Johnson got the Pack back in the game briefly, but that run was short lived as Mines extended their lead back up to 17 and eventually brought home the win 16-point win over the Pack.

UP NEXT
The 8-8 (3-5 RMAC) ThunderWolves will have a quick turnaround and look to bounce back from the loss as they host MSU Denver (3-9 overall, 2-5 RMAC) tomorrow at 4 p.m. in Massari Arena. MSU Denver snapped a five-game losing skid with their 58-49 road win Friday at New Mexico Highlands. The Roadrunners defeated the Pack, 58-42, last season in Denver.