GOLDEN, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo women's basketball struggled to find an offensive rhythm Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves dropped a 56-46 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest at Colorado School of Mines inside Lockridge Arena.
With the setback, the Pack fell to 13-13 overall and 9-9 in the RMAC, while Mines improved to 15-14 overall and 9-9 in the league. Saturday's loss dropped the Pack into a three-way tie for seventh place with Mines and Fort Lewis in the RMAC standings heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Pack shot just 24.1 percent (14-for-58) from the field and 16.1 percent (5-for-31) from the 3-point line as the Orediggers led wire-to-wire in Saturday's match-up.
After Mines opened the game on a 7-0 run, the ThunderWolves were forced to play from behind for the entirety of the contest. CSU Pueblo trailed 17-9 after the first quarter and entered halftime down 28-16 following a second period in which the Pack was limited to 2-of-12 shooting from the floor.
The ThunderWolves showed life coming out of the break, outscoring the Orediggers 16-14 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10 heading into the final period. CSU Pueblo added 14 fourth-quarter points, but Mines matched the output to secure the 10-point decision.
Junior forward
Laci Roffle (Aurora, Colo./MSU Denver) paced the Pack offensively with 10 points, while senior guard
Seneya Martinez (Windsor, Colo./Appalachian State) added nine points and senior guard
Genesis Sweetwine (Aurora, Colo./Northeastern JC) had eight points.
Junior forward
Dasani Nesbit (Billings, Mont./Gillette College) paced CSU Pueblo on the glass with a team-high 10 rebounds, but the Pack was outrebounded, 49-25, for the game.
Jenna Shandy and Sofia Baldessari paced Mines with 16 points each, while Sophia Baal added 10 points and eight rebounds. Baldessari also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Pack forced Mines into 29 turnovers and collected 14 steals, including three each from Roffle and Sweetwine, but the Pack was only able to score 18 points off those turnovers. The Pack finished with 14 turnovers that led to five points for the Orediggers.
CSU Pueblo held advantages in fast break points (14-2) and bench scoring (19-0), but Mines capitalized on its efficiency from three-point range, shooting 50 percent (10-of-20) from deep. Mines also shot 40.4 percent from the field (21-for-52) from the field for the game.
The Pack also held a 14-4 edge at the free throw line as they were 13-for-14 (92.9 percent) from the line and Mines was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
The Pack will conclude the regular season next week with home games in Massari Arena against Fort Lewis and Adams State. The Pack will host Fort Lewis on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. and then welcome Adams State for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m.
