Colorado School of Mines vs. CSU-Pueblo
Friday, January 12, 2007 - 6:00 pm
Volk Gym - Golden, Colo.

Colorado School of Mines vs. Adams State
Saturday, January 13, 2007 - 6:00 pm
Volk Gym - Golden, Colo.

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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. 7.1 3.8 2.7
15 Emily Dalton F 5-11 Fr. Golden, Colo. 9.8 5.1 0.6
23 Iva Tomova G 5-8 Sr. Varna, Bulgaria 16.6 3.8 2.2
30 Blakelee Midyett F 6-0 Fr. Golden, Colo. 5.0 4.3 0.5
55 Angela Pearson C 6-0 Sr. Arvada, Colo. 6.6 7.0 0.5

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
14 Elise Goggin G 5-4 So. Colorado Springs 1.0 0.1 0.0
20 Amanda Adams F 5-7 So. Evergreen, Colo. 2.1 2.7 1.0
22 Emily Przekwas G 5-5 Jr. Littleton, Colo. 3.1 1.5 0.5
24 Julie Marshall G 5-6 So. Billings, Mont. 3.0 1.2 0.9
25 Bailey Christenson G 5-5 RFR. Boulder, Colo. 0.3 0.3 0.07
31 Liz Jeffries F 5-9 Jr. Castle Rock, Colo. 3.6 3.2 1.2
40 Shannon Griep F 5-10 Sr. Longmont, Colo. 1.0 0.5 0.0
42 Brecca Gaffney C 6-1 Fr. Greeley, Colo. 4.0 5.0 2.0
44 Savannah Afoa C 6-1 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska 3.4 3.4 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).

LAST TIME OUT (1/5/07-11/6/07): The Colorado School of Mines women’s baskeball team went 1-1 this past weekend. They lost to Fort Lewis 65-60 on Friday and came back to beat Mesa State 67-55 on Saturday night. Iva Tomova led Mines scoring 23 points on Friday and 22 on Saturday, earning her East Division Player of the Week accolades.

ABOUT CSU-PUEBLO: After knocking off Mines last year in the Championship game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, Mines will look for revenge Friday night against The CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves. The Thunderwolves come into Mines with a 7-5 overall record and 5-1 in the RMAC, leading the West Division. They are led by Lindsay Black who is averaging 13.3 points per game. Kerry Lewis (12.7) and Mary Rehfled (12.3) also are in double digits for point per game average.

ABOUT ADAMS STATE: The Grizzlis come into Golden with a 4-10 overall and 2-4 RMAC record. Isil Oskan, who played with Mines Guard Iva Tomova at Northeastern JC leads the Grizzliesm averaging 11.6 points per game. Laurel Mortensen is second on the team with 10.5 and averages 2.7 assists per game.

OUT OF THIS COUNTRY: Senior guard Iva Tomova, a native of Varna, Bulgaria, Tomova transferred to Mines last season after playing two seasons at Northeastern Junior College. This season, Tomova is leading the team, averaging 16.6 points per game which ranks her fifth in the RMAC. She has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games played. Tomova also ranks fifth in the RMAC with a .849 free throw percentage.

BE LIKE EICK: Sophomore Sara Eickelman will continue to be the backbone of the Orediggers this season. Eickelman has gotten the 2006-07 season started off with a bang, starting all 13 games, Eickelman is averaging 7.1 points per game, third on the team and leads the team with 23 steals and 36 assists. Her 36 assists in 13 games ranks her 10th in the conference.

“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 is averaging 6.6 points per game and leads the team with a 7.0 rebounds per game average so far this season.

GOLDEN DALTON: A Golden, Colo. native, Emily Dalton has started her college career off smokin’, she has started the last eleven games, and has showed why she deserves that roll. She is second on the team with an average of 9.8 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Dalton ranks seventh in the RMAC with a .523 filed goal percentage.

REDSHIRT COMES OFF FOR BLAKELEE: Freshman forward Blakelee Midyett was unredshirted and has played in Mines’ last four games. The Golden, Colo. native is averaging 5.0 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game. Midyett has also started three of her first four games as an Oredigger.