Colorado School of Mines vs. Chadron State College
Friday, January 26, 2007 - 6:00 pm
Volk Gym- Golden, Colo.

Colorado School of Mines vs. Nebraska-Kearney
Saturday, January 27, 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. 6.4 4.3 2.6
15 Emily Dalton F 5-11 Fr. Golden, Colo. 9.8 5.1 0.6
23 Iva Tomova G 5-8 Sr. Varna, Bulgaria 15.6 3.6 2.6
30 Blakelee Midyett F 6-0 Fr. Golden, Colo. 7.6 5.4 0.5
55 Angela Pearson C 6-0 Sr. Arvada, Colo. 6.2 6.4 0.6

No. Off the Bench Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
14 Elise Goggin G 5-4 So. Colorado Springs 1.1 0.1 0.0
20 Amanda Adams F 5-7 So. Evergreen, Colo. 2.9 3.0 1.1
22 Emily Przekwas G 5-5 Jr. Littleton, Colo. 2.9 1.4 0.5
24 Julie Marshall G 5-6 So. Billings, Mont. 2.8 1.0 1.1
25 Bailey Christenson G 5-5 RFR. Boulder, Colo. 0.3 0.4 0.06
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. 0.9 0.7 0.0
42 Brecca Gaffney C 6-1 Fr. Greeley, Colo. 3.5 5.0 2.0
44 Savannah Afoa C 6-1 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska 4.6 3.9 0.2

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 (1/19/07-1/20/07): The Colorado School of Mines women’s baskeball team split a pair of road games this past weekend. Mines fell to 19th ranked Metro State, 63-49. Mines was up by one at halftime but was unable to hold on. They turned around the next night, beating Colorado Christian 71-42. They improved their RMAC record to 6-3 with the win and became 9-8 overall.

SEVEN GAME HOME WINNING STREAK: Mines is currently on a seven game home winning streak. The Orediggers are return to action this weekend with home games agaisnt Chadron and Nebraska-Kearney.

ABOUT Chadron:The Eagles have yet to win a game this season. They are led by Sunni Busch who is averaging 12.5 points per game.

ABOUT NEBRASKA KEARNEY: The Lopers currentley sit just one game ahead of Mines in the East Division with an RMAC record of 7-2. Mines is in need of a big game against the Lopers. The Lopers are led by Liz Fischer who averages 16.5 ppg, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

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 15.6 points per game which ranks her fifth in the RMAC. She has scored in double figures in 14 of 17 games played. Tomova also ranks seventh in the RMAC with a .831 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 17 games, Eickelman is averaging 6.4 points per game and leads the team with 29 steals and 44 assists. Her 44 assists in 17 games ranks her 11th in the conference with a 2.6 average.

“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 6.2 points per game and leads the team with a 6.4 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 thirteen 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 sixth in the RMAC with a .512 filed goal percentage.

REDSHIRT COMES OFF FOR BLAKELEE: Freshman forward Blakelee Midyett was unredshirted and has played in Mines’ last six games. The Golden, Colo. native is averaging 7.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Midyett has also become a starter, she proves why with her solid performances. She was second on the team this past weeked with 11 points in the Metro game.