While they were hoping to strike gold, the Colorado School of Mines basketball teams only found silver in last week’s conference tournament.
On March 4, the women’s basketball team lost a down-to-the-wire thriller against No. 1 seed Regis. The same night, the men’s team fell to No. 2 seed Fort Lewis at Colorado Mesa.
Adam Thistlewood and Brendan Sullivan from the men’s team and Ashley Steffeck and Sammy Van Sickle from the women’s team were named to their respective 2023 RMAC All-Tournament Teams.
Now, both sets of Orediggers are preparing for the NCAA Division II tournament.
The men’s team finished the season 26-5, including 18-4 in conference play, and earned a No. 3 seed in the South Central Region.
The Orediggers will play No. 6 seed Black Hills State March 11 in Canyon, Texas. If they win, they’ll take on the winner of No. 2 seed Fort Lewis and No. 7 Lubbock Christian.
This is the program’s 12th NCAA tournament appearance, competing most recently in 2021, when Mines won the West Regional Title.
Meanwhile, the Mines women’s team finished the season 24-6 overall and 18-4 in conference play, and earned a No. 4 seed in the South Central Region.
The Orediggers will play No. 5 seed UT-Tyler in San Angelo, Texas. If they win, they’ll play either No. 1 seed San Angelo State or No. 8 seed West Texas A&M.
This is the program’s fifth overall appearance and third consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Full brackets are available at ncaa.com. For more information on the Mines games, visit MinesAthletics.com.
RMAC tournaments
Both sets of Orediggers started off strong during their Feb. 28 first-round games at home. The No. 2-seeded women’s team held out against No. 7 seed Colorado Mesa, winning 66-60. Then, the No. 4-seeded Oredigger men toppled No. 5 Chadron State 87-68.
After that, the women’s team headed to the semifinals at Regis while the men’s team made the long drive to top-seeded Colorado Mesa.
For their March 3 semifinal, the Oredigger men started off slow against the Mavericks on their home court. However, Mines found its rhythm, thanks in part to 14 points each from Thistlewood and Sam Beskind. Brendan Sullivan also racked up his first double-double of the season against Colorado Mesa, and the Orediggers went on to win 64-53.
That same evening, the women’s team squared off against No. 6 seed MSU-Denver. Mines senior guard Ashley Steffeck scored a career-high 32 points, helping to lift the Orediggers over the Roadrunners 74-66.
During the game, senior forward Sammy Van Sickle scored her 1,000th career point, making her the 13th player to do so in program history. Steffeck is also part of the 1,000-point club at Mines.
With tournament trophies on the line for both teams, the men’s team took on Fort Lewis in Grand Junction March 4. The Orediggers were up against a deficit early, going into halftime down nine. A second-half rally made for several tense sequences. The Skyhawks withstood the Orediggers’ storm, though, winning 82-76 and taking home the tourney title.
Thistlewood scored a season-high 26 points, one shy of his career high, and Sullivan finished with 17 points.
In Denver, the Mines women’s team were hoping to have better luck against Regis. The game was back-and-forth with five ties and 15 lead changes, as Ranger and Oredigger fans took turns going into a frenzy whenever their team had a major play.
Throughout the final stretch, Regis had a one-possession lead over Mines. With only a few seconds left and Mines down three, Steffeck launched a trey to send the game into overtime, but it bounced off the rim and Regis came up with the critical rebound. Mines fouled, but with less than three seconds left, and a good Regis free throw at the other end, the Orediggers’ chance of victory had slipped away.
Steffeck and Sammy Van Sickle filled up the stat sheet, while senior Megan Van de Graaf racked up a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
With the RMAC tournaments over, both sets of Orediggers are hoping to make waves in the NCAA tournaments and extend their seasons for as long as possible.
