Colorado School of Mines vs. South Dakota
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 - 6:00 pm
Volk Gymnasium- Golden, Colo.

Colorado School of Mines vs. Nebraska-Omaha
Friday, November 24, 2006 - 6:00 pm
Omaha, Neb.

Colorado School of Mines vs. Minnesota State-Mankato
Saturday, November 25, 2006 - 1:00 pm
Omaha, Neb.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE PDF VERSION OF THE NOTES

THE HEAD COACH: Paula Krueger is in her fourth year as the head women’s basketball coach at Colorado School of Mines. Last year, Krueger led the Orediggers to a 16-14 overall mark, including an 8-11 record in the RMAC. However, she saved her best work for late in the season as CSM was the last team to qualify for the RMAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed. The eighth-seeded Orediggers travelled to top-seeded Regis and handed the Rangers a 71-57 setback. It marked the first time in the history of the RMAC Tournament that an eighth-seeded team defeated the top-seeded team. It was also the first win in program history in the RMAC Tournament. CSM then went on to defeat Nebraska-Kearney, 67-61, in the semfinals before falling to CSU-Pueblo, 65-54, in the championship game. 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. Following 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.

No. Probable Starters Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Sara Eickelman G 5-8 So. Pueblo, Colo. 7.5 3.0 0.0
23 Iva Tomova G 5-8 Sr. Varna, Bulgaria 9.5 3.5 2.0
31 Liz Jeffries F 5-9 Jr. Castle Rock, Colo. 3.5 3.0 1.5
33 Kelsey Crist F 5-11 So. Buena Vista, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
55 Angela Pearson C 6-0 Sr. Arvada, Colo. 6.0 6.5 0.5

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
14 Elise Goggin G 5-4 So. Colorado Springs 0.0 0.0 0.0
15 Emily Dalton F 5-11 Fr. Golden, Colo. 6.0 2.0 0.0
20 Amanda Adams F 5-7 So. Evergreen, Colo. 0.0 0.5 0.0
22 Emily Przekwas G 5-5 Jr. Littleton, Colo. 0.5 1.0 0.0
24 Julie Marshall G 5-6 So. Billings, Mont. 4.5 0.5 0.5
25 Bailey Christenson G 5-5 RFR. Boulder, Colo. 1.0 0.5 0.0
32 Kaitlin Soehner G 5-8 Fr. Idalia, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
40 Shannon Griep F 5-10 Sr. Longmont, Colo. 2.5 0.5 0.0
42 Brecca Gaffney C 6-1 Fr. Greeley, Colo. 5.5 5.0 3.0
44 Savannah Afoa C 6-1 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska 5.0 1.5 0.0

CSM PICKED FIFTH IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: The Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team was picked fifth in the 2006-07 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball East Division Preseason Poll. The Orediggers received 55 total points to finish behind East Division favorite Regis University and runner-up Metro State. Regis received 10 first place votes and 18 total points, while Metro garnered two first place votes and 27 total points. Nebraska-Kearney finished third with 32 points and was followed by UC-Colorado Springs (54), MINES (55), Chadron State (74) and Colorado Christian (83).

TOMOVA NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-RMAC EAST TEAM: Senior guard Iva Tomova was one of five players selected to the Preseason All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East Division Team. She was joined on the team by Diana Lopez, the Preseason RMAC Player of the Year from Regis University, Paige Powers of Metro State, and Nebraska-Kearney’s Liz Fischer and Melissa Hinkley.

LAST TIME OUT (11/17/06-11/18/06): The Colorado School of Mines women’s baskeball team opened up regular season play this past weekend with two game at the Colorado Christian University Tournament. The Orediggers dropped their first game of the season on Friday night with a 65-57 setback to Wayne State University. The Orediggers then played Northern State on Saturday night, where they again came up short with a 64-46 loss.
Freshman Brecca Gaffney led the Orediggers against Wayne, ending with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Iva Tomova led the way agaisnt Northern with 10 points.

ABOUT Nebraska-Omaha: The University of Nebraska-Omaha got off to a quick start this season, winning their first two games. Mines will go into UNO, facing an undefeated team thus far. UNO is led by Karen Thies who is averaging 22.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds.

ABOUT MINNESOTA STATE-MANKATO: The Mavericks opened up their 2006-07 season with two wins. Last season the Mavericks finished with an overall record of 12-16. They are led by Flecia Foster who is averaging 17 points per game after their first two games of the season.

OUT OF THIS COUNTRY: Senior guard Iva Tomova returns for her second season at Mines. A native of Varna, Bulgaria, Tomova transferred to Mines last season after playing two seasons at Northeastern Junior College. Last season, Tomova was second on the team in points, averaging 13.8 per game and led the team with 84 assists on the season. Tomova opened up the 2006-07 season averaging 9.5 points per game, first on the team.

BE LIKE EICK: Sophomore Sara Eickelman will continue as Mines’ starting point guard this season. As one of the toughest players on the team, Eickelman will be the backbone of the Orediggers this season. Eickelman averaged four points per game, while she was second on the team with 31 steals last season. In Mines’ first two games of the 2006-07 season, Eickelman had eight points against Wayne and seven against Northern State.

KELSEY “CRISP” CRIST: After a stellar first season, Kelsey Crist returns this season as one of Mines’ starters. As a freshman, Crist was fourth on the team, averaging 6.4 points per game, while she was third with a 4.8 rebound average. Crist will be play an even bigger role this season as one of the Orediggers top players. After spraining her ankle in practice last week, Crist was held out of Mines’ first two games, Crist may or may not play this week.

MOVING UP LIKE THE JEFFERSONS: Junior Liz Jeffries is the Orediggers best kept secret. Although the stats aren’t amazing, Jeffries is one of the most reliable players on the court, starting all 30 games last season. Jeffries will be a key part of the team this season, as she is impressive both offensively and defensively and continues to improve each year. Jeffries was second on the team with 73 assists last season.

“Piercing” Pearson: Angela Pearson has one of the toughest jobs this season, replacing standout Ashley Gronewoller. Mines expects big things from the 6-0 center in 2006-07. After being in Gronewoller’s shadow, Pearson now gets her chance to shine and show what she’s all about. Pearson was third on the team last season with a 10.7 points per game average and was second in rebounds, averaging 5.7 per game. Pearson opened up the 2006-07 season averaging 6.0 points per game and leads the team with a 6.5 rebounds per game average.

FRESHMAN BRECCA GAFFNEY: Freshman Brecca Gaffney got her collegiate career started off with a bang. The Freshman led the Orediggers on Friday night against Wayne State, scoring 11 points along with her seven rebounds. Gaffney injured her shoulder on Saturday against Northern State, but still managed five points and three rebounds.