COLORADO MINES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes - Week #13
at Colorado Christian, 2/25/03 - Lakewood, Colo., 6:00 pm
at Regis, 3/1/03 - Denver, Colo., 3:00 pm

PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
22 Kim Kilmer G 4.4 2.7 1.5 .308
23 Karen Martin F 2.3 2.9 1.4 .292
30 Heather Hoops G 5.2 2.0 1.9 .297
32 Heather Angel F 9.5 5.9 1.8 .446
55 Ashley Gronewoller C 11.2 7.4 1.1 .587

OFF THE BENCH
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
15 Jessica Neumiller G 4.5 1.3 0.7 .374
20 Kristen Horkey G 7.1 1.7 1.4 .463
24 Katie Gaudutis G 7.4 0.9 1.6 .344
25 Bara Zhanasova C 2.9 2.1 0.4 .371
42 Gina Cornelio F 1.8 1.4 0.7 .286
45 Katie Cunio C 4.2 4.3 0.7 .467

THE HEAD COACH
Vic Doperalski is in his tenth season as the women’s basketball coach at Colorado School of Mines, and his 26th year overall as a basketball coach. During his nine years at the helm for the Orediggers, Doperalski has accumulated a 90-177 record, guiding the team to the five winningest seasons in CSM history. In 2001-02, Doperalski led CSM to an overall record of 16-11, including a 10-9 mark in the RMAC. In addition, he led Mines to 13 wins in 1999-2000 and 11 victories in 1998-99, 1994-95 and 1993-94.

LAST TIME OUT (2/22/03): Colorado Mines freshman center Ashley Gronewoller recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 boards, but it was not enough as the Orediggers fell to Metro State, 64-60, in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women’s basketball action Saturday night at the Auraria Events Center. Mines, which trailed 31-30 at the half, also received 18 points from junior guard Jessica Neumiller, which tied her career high. Freshman forward Heather Angel added 16 points, while sophomore guard Kim Kilmer chipped in with five points and four rebounds.

MOANS AND GROANS: The groans you hear at CSM women’s basketball games could be coming from opposing coaches when they realize that freshman center Ashley Gronewoller will have three years of eligibility left after this season. The 6-foot-3 Gronewoller, a candidate for the RMAC Freshman of the Year Award, is ranked 20th in the RMAC in scoring (11.2 ppg), 10th in rebounding (7.4 rpg), first in blocked shots (1.6 bpg), third in field goal percentage (.587) and seventh in free throw percentage (.768). Gronewoller, who has produced five double-doubles this season, has closed the season strong as she is averaging 17.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 1.0 assist per game over her last four games.

AN ANGEL ON THE COURT: Gronewoller’s classmate, forward Heather Angel, has helped to give Mines one of the deadliest freshman duos in the entire conference. Angel is second on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and assists (1.8 apg) and is shooting the ball at a 47 percent clip from the field and 76 percent mark from the charity stripe.

K-MART: Forward Karen Martin, the lone senior on this year’s squad has been the only player to start in all 25 games for Mines this season and has started in 52 straight games dating back to last season. The 5-foot-9 Martin is averaging 2.3 points and 2.9 boards per game in her final season in Golden.

HORK OFF THE HOOK: After playing just 39 minutes in eight games all of last season, sophomore guard Kristin Horkey has been a bright spot for Mines this season. A starter in 10-of-17 games, she is fourth on the team in scoring (7.1 ppg) and has led Mines in scoring four times this season. Horkey has missed the last eight games after sustaining an injury in a win over Colorado College on Jan. 25.

FOR STARTERS: Sophomore guard Kim Kilmer has been a bright spot for CSM as she has started the last six games. The team’s top returning scorer from last year, Kilmer has averaged 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in those games. During the streak, she twice grabbed a career-best seven boards and also dished out a career best five assists in a loss to Chadron State on Feb. 7

LET’S GET 70: The number 70 appears to be the good luck charm for the women’s basketball team. Since the 2000-01 season, Mines is 15-1 when it scores at least 70 points, including three victories this season. The last time CSM lost when it scored at least 70 points was Feb. 21, 2001, a 92-76 setback at Fort Hays State. In three of its four wins this season, CSM has topped the 70-point barrier.

NEW STARTER: Junior guard Jessica Neumiller was called upon to start her third game of the season at Metro State Saturday evening and responded as she tied her career-high with 18 points. Neumiller hit on 6-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three point range, and also had three rebounds.

SCOUTING THIS WEEKS COMPETITION:
Colorado Christian enters play this week at 9-16 overall and 3-14 in the RMAC following losses to Chadron State (73-51) and Metro State (84-52) last week. For the season, the Cougars are led by Candida Reyes who ranks 16th in the RMAC in scoring (11.8 ppg), while Taylor Long posts 11.1 points per contest. As a team, the Cougars shoot 36 percent from the field and 66 percent from the charity stripe. CCU averages an RMAC low 54.5 points per game and gives up 65.6 per night.

Regis enters play this week at 18-7 overall and 13-4 in the RMAC and have already clinched a berth in the RMAC Tournament. Last week, the Rangers knocked off Fort Hays, 89-72, and handed Nebraska-Kearney its first conference loss, 76-74, as Julie Jestus banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer. For the season, Molly Marrin leads the squad in both scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (8.0 rpg). She is 8th in the RMAC in scoring and 4th in rebounding. Jestus posts 12.5 points and an RMAC-leading 6.0 assists per game, while Keely O’Dell tallies 10.8 points and 4.0 boards per game. As a team, Regis is second in the RMAC in field goal percentage (.478), first in three-point field goal percentage (.375) and second in free throw percentage (.747). Regis is also second in scoring offense (75.0 ppg) and give up 64.0 points per game.

LAST TIME VS. CCU (2/21/03): The Colorado Mines women’s basketball team raced out to a 28-17 lead at the half and held on for a 58-52 victory over Colorado Christian in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women’s basketball action in Volk Gymnasium. CSM claimed its largest lead of the first half (28-14) with 2:18 remaining on a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Heather Hoops. Neither team would score again until the Cougar’s Candida Reyes nailed a three-pointer with three seconds to play in the first stanza to cut the lead to 11 points. Mines then came out and began the second half by outscoring CCU, 18-9 to claim its largest lead on the contest, 46-26, with 11:08 to play in the game. However, the Cougars mounted a charge back and cut the lead to two points on a jumper from Taylor Long with 1:14 to play. But CSM sank 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch, including four by Hoops, to pull out the win. Hoops led her squad with 13 points and four rebounds, while freshman center Ashley Gronewoller posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. CCU was paced by Long who notched a double-double with game-highs in points (18) and rebounds (11).

LAST TIME VS. REGIS (2/23/03): The Regis women’s basketball team led 29-15 at halftime and never trailed in the game as it claimed a 68-47 victory over Colorado Mines in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action in Volk Gymnasium. Mines was paced by sophomore guard Katie Gaudutis who scored a team-high 10 points and dished out three assists, while sophomore guard Kristin Horkey added nine points. The Rangers were led by Molly Marrin’s 17 points and six rebounds, while Keely O’Dell added 13 points and five boards. Julie Jestus added 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks for Regis.