COLORADO MINES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes - Week #4
vs. Western State, 12/13/02, Golden, Colo., 6:00 pm
vs. CU-Colorado Springs, 12/14/02, Golden, Colo., 6:00 pm

PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
23 Karen Martin F 2.5 4.5 1.3 .300
24 Katie Gaudutis G 10.0 1.3 1.5 .408
30 Heather Hoops G 2.8 1.5 2.0 .188
32 Heather Angel F 9.5 7.3 2.2 .385
55 Ashley Gronewoller C 7.7 4.2 0.5 .552

OFF THE BENCH
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
15 Jessica Neumiller G 5.0 1.4 0.6 .471
20 Kristen Horkey G/F 3.8 1.5 0.7 .571
22 Kim Kilmer G/F 1.8 2.5 0.3 .150
25 Bara Zhanasova C 2.8 2.4 0.2 .238
33 Cathy Sauter F 2.6 1.4 0.4 .417
42 Gina Cornelio F 0.0 1.0 0.7 .000
45 Katie Cunio C 7.7 6.2 0.3 .500

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 an 87-161 record, guiding the team to the three winningest seasons in CSM history. Last season, Doperalski led CSM to an overall record of 16-11, including a 10-9 mark in the RMAC. In addition, the Orediggers racked up 11 wins in both the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons.

LAST TIME OUT: The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball fell to 1-5 overall with a 63-56 setback to 13th-ranked Mesa State in Volk Gymnasium on Saturday evening. Mesa State improved to 6-0 with the win. CSM claimed its largest lead of the game (18-12) midway through the first half, but the Mavericks ended the half on a 14-7 run to take a 26-25 lead at the intermission. Mesa took a 36-31 lead five minutes into the second half, however, the Orediggers responded with a 5-0 run to knot the game at 36-36 with just under 13 minutes to play. CSM freshman center Ashley Gronewoller keyed the run with a three-point play. From there, the Mavericks would outscore CSM 16-7 over the next seven minutes to take their largest lead of the game (52-43) with five minutes to play. The Orediggers mounted one more charge as they went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to cut their deficit to one point (54-53) with two minutes to play. However, Mesa hit all seven of its free throws down the stretch and added a three-point play by junior forward Natalie Rogers (Evanston, Wyo./Evanston) to seal the win. Mines was led by Gronewoller who tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Freshman forward Heather Angel added 11 points and five assists, while sophomore guard Kristen Horkey chipped in with a career-high 11 points.

LONG BREAK: Following this weekend’s two games at Volk Gymnasium, the Oredigger women’s basketball team will not be in action again until Dec. 31 when it hosts St. Cloud State in a non-conference matchup.

MARKED IMPROVEMENT: After four games this season, the Oredigger women’s squad was shooting just 49 percent from the free throw line (37-76). However, over the last two games, CSM has hit 32-of-35 free tosses (.914) to up its season percentage to 62 percent. In Saturday’s loss to Mesa State, Mines was a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

NICE EFFORT: CSM freshman center Ashley Gronewoller logged a career-high 32 minutes in Saturday’s loss to Mesa State. She scored 11 points and set career-highs in rebounds (7) and blocked shots (3) as she also made her third start of the season.

CAREER NIGHT: Mines sophomore guard Kristen Horkey played her finest game of the season, and perhaps her best game in an Oredigger uniform on Saturday against Mesa. The Fort Collins native nailed all four of her shots from the field, including both from three-point range, as she tallied a career-high 11 points in 13 minutes. She also grabbed two rebounds and notched one steal.

LET’S GET 70: The number 70 appears to be the good luck charm for the women’s basketball team. Over the last two seasons, Mines is 13-1 when it scores at least 70 points. A 70-49 victory over Lynn on Nov. 30 has been the only time CSM has hit the 70 point barrier this season. The last time CSM lost when it scored at least 70 points was on Feb. 21, 2001, a 92-76 setback at Fort Hays State.

SCOUTING THIS WEEKS COMPETITION:
Western State enters play this week at 1-6 overall following a 60-47 loss at Grand Canyon on Sunday. The Mountaineers are led by Jamie Mayne who averages 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Andi Sutherland posts 12.4 points and 4.9 assists per game, while Melissa Donley averages 7.6 points and a team-best 7.4 boards per contest. WSC is third in the RMAC in team field goal percentage at 45 percent, while opponents shoot 43 percent.

UCCS enters play this week at 0-5 overall and will play at Colorado Christian on Friday night before coming to Golden for Saturday’s game. UCCS is averaging an RMAC low 44.0 points per game and is shooting just 26 percent from the field this season. BJ McNeally leads the Mountain Lions with 12.2 points and 2.2 assists per contest, while Meghan McCee averages 9.0 points and a team-best 5.6 boards per night.