COLORADO MINES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game Notes - Week #9
at Fort Hays State, 1/31/03, Hays, Kan., 6:00 pm
at Nebraska-Kearney, 2/1/03, Kearney, Neb., 6:00 pm

PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
20 Kristen Horkey G 7.1 1.7 1.4 .463
23 Karen Martin F 2.6 3.0 1.1 .328
30 Heather Hoops G 4.2 1.9 2.0 .264
32 Heather Angel F 8.9 6.3 1.6 .400
55 Ashley Gronewoller C 9.5 7.1 1.0 .550

OFF THE BENCH
No. Name Pos. PPG RPG APG FG%
15 Jessica Neumiller G 4.6 1.5 0.5 .373
22 Kim Kilmer G/F 2.4 1.7 0.9 .250
24 Katie Gaudutis G 7.1 1.7 1.5 .352
25 Bara Zhanasova C 2.8 2.4 0.2 .320
42 Gina Cornelio F 1.8 0.7 0.5 .318
45 Katie Cunio C 5.2 5.1 0.9 .469

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 90-169 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 (1/25/03): Colorado Mines freshman center Ashley Gronewoller and freshman forward Heather Angel each produced double-doubles to lead Mines to a 76-63 victory over Colorado College in non-conference women’s basketball action Saturday night in Volk Gymnasium. Gronewoller tied her career-high with 22 points and also added 10 rebounds, while Angel tallied 13 points and tied her career-high with 13 boards. Mines (4-13) jumped out to a 13-5 lead six minutes into the contest only to see the Tigers go on a 14-6 run to knot the game at 19-19 with 7:32 to play in the first half. From there, CSM would outscore the Tigers, 19-8 to take an 11-point lead at halftime. The Orediggers claimed a double-digit lead for a majority of the second half, but received a scare when Colorado College cut its deficit to four points (67-63) with three minutes to play. However, Mines responded by scoring the final nine points of the contest and holding the Tigers without a point over that time.

MOANS AND GROANS: Those 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 basketball left after this season. The 6-foot-3 Gronewoller leads the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg) and is sixth in the RMAC in field goal percentage (.550). In Saturday’s win over Colorado College, Gronewoller tied her career high with 22 points. Over her last seven games, Gronewoller is averaging 12.9 points and 6.7 boards per game.

AN ANGEL ON THE COURT: Gronewoller’s classmate, forward Heather Angel, has also produced an outstanding freshman campaign. She is second on the team in both scoring (8.9 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg) and is also second on the team in assists (1.6 apg). In Saturday’s win over Colorado College, Angel notched her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

K-MART: Forward Karen Martin, the lone senior on this year’s squad, has provided the team with experience and leadership this season. A co-captain, Martin is the lone player to start all 17 games for the Oredigger’s this year and is averaging 2.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per night.

HORK OFF THE HOOK: After playing just 39 minutes in eight games 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 on four occasions this season.

HOOP IT UP: Sophomore guard Heather Hoops has provided the team with solid all-around play from her point guard position this season. A starter in 15-of-17 games this season, Hoops currently leads the team with 34 assists and is also averaging 4.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. In a victory over New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 11, Hoops scored a season-high 12 points, just two off her career-best, on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor.

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 on Feb. 21, 2001, a 92-76 setback at Fort Hays State.

START QUICK: Mines is 4-1 this season when it leads at the half. In those game, the Orediggers have outscored their opposition, 136-102.

SCOUTING THIS WEEKS COMPETITION:
Fort Hays enters play this week at 11-4 overall and 6-3 in the RMAC following a win at Chadron State (55-50) and a loss at Metro State (76-62) last week. Katie Rhodes tallied 23 points and 10 boards in the split. For the season, Jamie Heiman leads the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg), while Rhodes chips in 8.3 points per game. As a team, the Tigers shoot 39 percent from the field and 63 percent from the charity stripe.

Nebraska-Kearney enters play this week at 14-3 overall and the only unbeaten team in the conference at 9-0. Last week, UNK knocked earned road wins against Metro State (73-60) and Chadron State (82-79). Leading the way in the two wins was Allison Kruger who totaled 46 points, 20 rebounds and seven assists. For the season, Kruger is third in the RMAC in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), while Kalee Modlin is fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.6 points per game and Heather Steffen ranks fourth in the league in rebounding (8.1 rpg). As a team, the Lopers are first in the RMAC in scoring (80.3 ppg), field goal percentage (.489) and free throw percentage (.760).