COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY NOTES #6

CLICK HERE for a complete PDF version

Colorado Mines vs. Mesa State
Saturday, January 3, 2004
7:00 pm • Wayne, Neb.

No. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
20 Kristen Horkey 6-0 Jr. Fort Collins, Colo. 5.4 2.6 1.0
30 Heather Hoops 5-8 Jr. Golden, Colo. 3.4 1.8 2.0
32 Heather Angel 5-11 So. Littleton, Colo. 10.8 5.4 1.8
42 Gina Cornelio 5-10 Jr. Tucson, Ariz. 4.4 4.7 1.6
44 Ashley Gronewoller 6-3 So. Pagosa Springs, Colo. 17.1 10.3 0.4

No. Off the Bench Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
14 Lindsay Orchard 5-8 Fr. Salt Lake City, Utah 1.0 0.3 0.2
15 Jessica Neumiller 5-5 Sr. Casper, Wyo. 5.7 2.3 0.8
22 Kim Kilmer 5-9 Jr. Stoneham, Colo. 7.0 4.1 2.9
25 Bara Zahnasova 6-0 Sr. Boulder, Colo. 1.4 1.9 0.2
40 Shannon Griep 5-10 Fr. Longmont, Colo. 0.4 0.4 0.6
45 Katie Cunio 6-0 Sr. Canyon City, Colo. 3.0 3.9 0.4
55 Angela Pearson 6-0 Fr. Arvada, Colo. 1.4 1.7 0.0

THE HEAD COACH: Paula Krueger was named the head women’s basketball coach at Colorado Mines on July 7 after serving a six-year stint at Northern State as an assistant coach.
A graduate of Northern State, Krueger was a standout on the basketball court as she earned national tournament MVP honors as a senior during Northern’s national championship campaign in 1993-94. Krueger was also a team captain and all-district performer on NSU’s softball team. She earned NSU’s prestigious Hildred Wolfe Student Athlete of the Year award as a senior.
Following her successful athletic career, Krueger served as a graduate assistant at Northern from 1995-96 for women’s basketball and softball while finishing up her studies. She received her bachelor’s in education from Northern in 1995 and her master’s in teaching in 1996.
After graduation, Krueger moved to Nevada where she taught and coached at Pahrump Valley High School for one year before returning to Northern State in 1997 to serve as the assistant women’s basketball coach and head softball coach. During her six years as an assistant at NSU, Krueger helped guide the squad to a 114-59 mark.

MINES PICKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON RMAC POLL: The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team was picked sixth out of seven teams in the Preseason RMAC East Division Poll. Nebraska-Kearney was picked to win the division as it received 13 first place votes and 13 points. Fort Hays State was picked second with 34 points, while Regis was third with one first place vote and 36 points. Metro State (45 points), Chadron State (59), Mines (71) and Colorado Christian (85) rounded out the poll.

UP NEXT: CSM will play at Colorado State-Pueblo on Jan. 9 and New Mexico Highlands on Jan. 10. Both games are scheduled for 6:00 pm.

LAST TIME OUT (12/20/03): The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team fell to 3-6 overall with a 65-44 setback at fourth-ranked South Dakota on Saturday afternoon.Mines hung tough with the fourth-ranked team in the country and trailed just 26-21 at the half. However, the Coyotes outscored the Orediggers in the second half, 39-23, to earn the win. Sophomore forward Heather Angel scored a team-best 11 points and added six boards.

LAST TIME OUT vs. MESA STATE (11/15/03): The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team dropped its season opener, 66-58, at Mesa State on Saturday night. Mines raced out to a 33-30 lead at the break against the Preseason RMAC Western Division favorites, but the Mavericks would outscore CSM, 36-25, over the final 20 minutes of play to claim the win. Sophomore forward Heather Angel led Mines with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore center Ashley Gronewoller tallied 14 points, a team-best nine boards and a blocked shot, while senior guard Jessica Neumiller contributed 12 points and three assists off the bench. She connected on 4-of-8 from three-point range. Natalie Rogers led Mesa with 20 points and 11 boards. Lori Eddy added 19 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while Rosa Masler produced nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds off the bench.

ABOUT MESA STATE: Mesa State is 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. The Mavericks have not played since a 65-63 loss to Winona State on Dec. 21. For the season, Natalie Rogers leads the team with 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds, while Rosa Masler produces a double-double with 10.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. As a team, the Mavericks shoot 40 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free throw line.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore center Ashley Gronewoller was named the RMAC East Division Player of the Week on Dec.16 after averaging 25.0 points and 15.5 rebounds in two road wins and shooting 76 percent from the floor (16-21).

SUPER SOPH: Sophomore center Ashley Gronewoller is making a strong case for all-conference honors this season. The 6-foot-3 Preseason All-RMAC East Division selection is third in the RMAC in scoring (17.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.610). She is tied for second in the RMAC with four double doubles.

AN ANGEL AMONG US: Sophomore forward Heather Angel is building upon her strong rookie campaign last season in which she was an Honorable Mention All-East Division honoree. Angel is second on the team in both scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg). She is also shooting 47 percent from the floor, an amazing 53 percent from three point land and 85 percent from the charity stripe.

HOOPER DUPER: Junior guard Heather Hoops is back after earning Honorable Mention All-RMAC East Division honors last season when she posted 5.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and led the team with 51 assists and 35 steals. She leads the team with 11 steals this season.

NEW FACES: Three freshman will join the team this season, guard Lindsay Orchard and forwards Shannon Griep and Angela Pearson.

DOUBLE “K”: Junior guard Kim Kilmer has shown her all-around game this season. She is third on the team in sccoring (7.0 ppg), fourth in rebounding (4.1 rpg) and leads the team with 26 assists. In two RMAC road wins on Dec. 12-13, she averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

SPREAD THE MINUTES: Of the nine returning players from last season, eight averaged at least 10 minutes of action per game last season, while the ninth averaged 9.4 minutes per night. This year, nine players are averaging double figures in minutes.

ROAD WOES: CSM earned its first road win (65-48 at Western State on Dec. 12) since defeating Colorado Christian, 67-48, in Lakewood, Colo., on Feb. 16, 2002. Since that game, the Orediggers were 0-12 on the road, including 0-10 in 2002-03.

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 16-2 when it scores at least 70 points, including 1-0 this season. The last time CSM lost when it scored at least 70 points was Mar. 1, 2003, a 76-71 ovetime loss at Regis.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Orediggers will be glad to be staying in Golden for Saturday’s game against Mesa State. It will be the first time since Nov. 22 that Mines has played a game in Volk Gymnasium, a span of six games. In all, Mines will play just three of its first 13 games at home.