#8 Colorado School of Mines at #1 Regis University
Wednesday March 1, 2006 - 7:00 pm
Regis Fieldhouse - Denver, Colo.
RMAC Shootout

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HEAD COACH: Paula Krueger is in her third year as the head women’s basketball coach at Colorado School of Mines. Last season, Krueger led CSM to its best season in program history as the team tallied a 19-9 overall record, including 13-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In addition, she guided the squad to the RMAC Tournament for the second straight year where the fifth-seeded Orediggers lost in the opening round to fourth-seeded Fort Hays State. 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. In addition, 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 State 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 served as the assistant women’s basketball coach and head softball coach at Northern State. During her six year’s as assistant at NSU, she helped lead her squad to a 114-59 mark.
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No. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Sara Eickelman 5-8 Fr. Pueblo, Colo. 3.9 2.6 2.4
23 Iva Tomova 5-8 Jr. Varna, Bulgaria 13.6 4.4 3.0
31 Liz Jeffries 5-9 So.. Castle Rock, Colo. 5.1 2.6 2.4
33 Kelsey Crist 5-11 Fr. Buena Vista, Colo. 6.3 4.9 1.4
44 Ashley Gronewoller 6-3 Sr. Pagosa Springs, Colo. 14.1 8.7 1.6



No. Off the Bench Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
10 Yogi Patterson 5-6 So. Farmington, N.M. 2.6 1.8 0.9
14 Elise Goggin 5-4 Fr. Colorado Springs, Colo. 1.0 0.4 0.2
15 Lindsay Orchard 5-8 Jr.. Salt Lake City, 1.0 2.0 0.6 20 Amanda Adams 5-7 So. Evergreen, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
22 Emily Przekwas 5-5 So. Littleton, Colo. 1.2 0.8 0.7
24 Julie Marshall 5-6 Fr. Billings, Mont. 3.5 1.1 0.9
25 Bailey Christenson 5-5 Fr. Boulder, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
40 Shannon Griep 5-10 Jr. Longmont, Colo. 1.8 2.1 0.4
55 Angela Pearson 6-0 Jr.. Arvada, Colo. 10.5 5.6 0.9

MINES EARNS BID IN RMAC TOURNAMENT: The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team finished fifth in the East Division and eighth in the entire Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after regular season play. The eighth place finish was just enough to earn the Orediggers a spot in the RMAC Tournament beginning this Wednesday. The top eight seeds in the RMAC earn a spot in the tournament. The top eight teams are, (1) Regis University, (2) Fort Lewis, (3) Fort Hays State, (4) Nebraska-Kearney, (5) Metro State, (6) CSU-Pueblo, (7) UC-Colorado Springs and (8) COLORADO SCOOL OF MINES.

LAST WEEK (2/24, 2/25): CSM lost their last two regular season games this past weekend to Regis University and Metro State.

AGAINST REGIS: Regis came into Volk Gymnasium as the number one team in the RMAC, losing only one conference game and four the entire season, the Rangers were the team to beat. Mines definitely brought all they had, as they had the Rangers just where they wanted them going into halftime with a one point lead. However, luck just wasn’t on their side as they watched the second half turn against them giving Regis a 75-54 win. Iva Tomova led Mines with 23 points, 15 which were from three point range, while Ashley Gronewoller chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds.

AGAINST METRO: After a hard loss the night before, the Orediggers came ready to play in hopes of a win that would guarantee them a RMAC Tournament berth. After leading once again by one at half, the Orediggers were determined not to repeat what happened the night before. With a two point lead with just 23 seconds remaining in the game, the Orediggers were on the verge of a victory. But with six seconds left, Metro State’s Stacey Cox put that victory aside as she tied the game with a layup, sending it into overtime. In overtime, Mines never had the lead but continued to remain close the enitire way through, with time running out Mines watched another heartbreaker slip through their fingers losing 79-73.

GODS ARE ON OUR SIDE: With a much needed win in one of their last two games, the Orediggers crossed their fingers in hopes that the other games around the league shaped up the way they needed them to. Sure enough luck finely found Mines’ side as Mines won the tie breaker (based on the RMAC scoring system) with both Mesa State and New Mexico Highlands , giving Mines the eighth and final spot in the RMAC Tournament.

THIS WEEK AGAINST REGIS : After a hard fought battle to get to the playoffs, Mines will begin with a tough matchup against the number one seed, Regis University in the Quarterfinals. After facing the Rangers twice this season, Mines will play them for the third time. After losing the previous two times, Mines will hope the saying, “ The third time is the charm” proves to be true.

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS AGAINST REGIS: The first time Mines played Regis was on January 21, 2006. Mines lost this game 73-59. Mines shot an impressive 55.6% this game, but with 30 turnovers all momentum was killed. Angela Pearson led Mines with 21 points and seven rebounds while Iva Tomova had 12 points and Ashley Gronewoller with 10. Regis’ Diana Lopez led with 28 points. The second match up against Regis was just this past Saturday which was written about above.

KEY PLAYERS
SUPER SENIOR ASHLEY GRONEWOLLER: Mines will look to their big cat this week against Regis. This season, Gronewoller is averaging 14.1 points and 8.7 rebounds. She was named the RMAC Player of the Week in week 3. Currently, Gronewoller ranks 10th in the RMAC with a 14.1 average for points per game, is first in rebounding (8.7), is fourth with a .551 field goal percentage and is second in blocked shots with a total of 50.
NUMBERS AGAINST REGIS:
Jan 21. Feb. 24
Points - 10 14
Rebounds - 5 8
Blocks - 1 2
FG % - .666 .540
GRONEWOLLER RECORDS: Gronewoller also has found herself on top of two Colorado School of Mines records. A couple of weeks ago against Fort Hays, Gronewoller broke the school record for most career rebounds. She now has the record with 858. She also broke the record against Nebraska-Kearney for most career points. She now has the record with 1,398. She also ranks second in career field goals made with 563. Here is a showing of who Gronewoller is chasing and has passed in these categories.
Points
1,398 Gronewoller 2002-pres.
1,349 Kelly Hadley 1983-87
1,225 Janet Proctor 1992-96
1,149 Lauren Marshall 1988-92
1,061 Lynn Terre/Leone 1990-94

Rebounds
858 Gronewoller 2002-pres.
772 Jamie Frisch 1994-98
726 Kelly Hadley 1983-87
661 Mary Meager 1979-83
594 Ann Ralph 1987-91

Field Goals
581 Kelly Hadley 1983-87
563 Gronewoller 2002-present
479 Janet Proctor 1992-96
478 Kim Good 1999-2002
442 Laura Marshall 1988-92

“ANGEL”A AMONG US: Mines will also look to junior forward Angela Pearson who continues to follow her impressive season last year in which she was fourth on the team in scoring (8.4) and third in rebounds (5.8). This season, Pearson currently is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.6 per game and is averaging 10.5 points per game, third on the team. Pearson has been a crucial part of Mines’ points the last two meetings against Regis.
NUMBERS AGAINST REGIS:
Jan 21. Feb. 24
Points - 21 8
Rebounds - 7 5
Blocks - 0 0
FG % - .640 .290

OUT OF THIS COUNTRY: Iva Tomova is originally from Varna, Bulgaria and transfered to Mines from Northeastern Junior College, after a successful career at her junior college, Tomova is first on the team with 78 assists in 26 games played, which puts her 10th in the RMAC. She also is second on the team with a 13.6 points per game average, which puts her 14th in the RMAC. She also is ranked second in the RMAC with a .868 free throw percentage. Tomova will also be needed in her best form on Wednesday, for a big win against Regis.
NUMBERS AGAINST REGIS:
Jan 21. Feb. 24
Points - 12 23
Rebounds - 3 4
FG % - .500 .444

THIRD IN A ROW: This will be Mines’ third year in a row that they have made it to the RMAC Tournament. Below is a list of tournament games.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2006 (Quarterfinals) - at Campus of higher seed s
#8 Colorado School of Mines at #1 Regis University 7:00 pm
#5 Metro State at #4 Nebraska-Kearney 6:00 pm
#6 CSU-Pueblo at #3 Fort Hays State 6:00 pm
#7 UC-Colorado Springs at #2 Fort Lewis 6:00 pm

SATURDAY MARCH 4, 2006 (Semifinals - at Colorado State Fair Events Center (Pueblo, Colo.)
Colorado School of Mines/Regis winner vs. Metro State/Nebraska- Kearney winner 2:00 pm
CSU-Pueblo/Fort Hays State winner vs. UC-Colorado Springs/Fort Lewis winner 6:00 pm

SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2006 (finals) - at Colorado State Fair Events Center (Pueblo, Colo)
Semifinal winners 2:00 pm

CSM IN THE RMAC TOURNAMENT: This will be the Orediggers third year in a row making the RMAC Tournament and its fifth time in six years. In its history, Mines has went to the tournament a total of eight times, losing all eight games in the first round.

2005 - #5 Colorado School of Mines 53, #4 Fort Hays State 81
2004 - #7 Colorado School of Mines 60, # 2 Fort Lewis 76
2002 - #7 Colorado School of Mines 44, #2 Nebraska-Kearny 69
2001 - Colorado School of Mines 55, Mesa State 61
1996 - Colorado School of Mines 60, Mesa State 63
1995 - Colorad School of Mines 62, Nebraska-Kearney 79
1994 - #6 Colorado School of Mines 58, #3 N.M. Highlands 87
1993 - #7 Colorado School of Mines 52, #2 Mesa State 83