Colorado School of Mines vs. Wayne State
Friday, November 17, 2006 - 5:00 pm
Cougar Fieldhouse - Lakewood, Colo.

Colorado School of Mines vs. Northern State
Saturday, November 18, 2006 - 4:00 pm
Cougar Fieldhouse - Lakewood, 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.
Krueger and her husband, Brad, reside in Golden.

No. Probable Starters Pos Ht. Yr. Hometown PPG RPG APG
5 Sara Eickelman G 5-8 So. Pueblo, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
23 Iva Tomova G 5-8 Sr. Varna, Bulgaria 0.0 0.0 0.0
31 Liz Jeffries F 5-9 Jr. Castle Rock, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
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. 0.0 0.0 0.0

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. 0.0 0.0 0.0
20 Amanda Adams F 5-7 So. Evergreen, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
22 Emily Przekwas G 5-5 Jr. Littleton, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
24 Julie Marshall G 5-6 So. Billings, Mont. 0.0 0.0 0.0
25 Bailey Christenson G 5-5 RFR. Boulder, Colo. 0.0 0.0 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. 0.0 0.0 0.0
42 Brecca Gaffney C 6-1 Fr. Greeley, Colo. 0.0 0.0 0.0
44 Savannah Afoa C 6-1 Fr. Anchorage, Alaska 0.0 0.0. 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.

UP NEXT: CSM will return to action next week with their first home game of the season. Mines will face South Dakota on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm.

LAST TIME OUT (3/5/05): The eighth-seeded Colorado School of Mines women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end with a 65-54 setback to sixth-seeded Nebraska-Kearney in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference SHOOTOUT Championship game at the Colorado State Fair and Events Center. CSM was led by guard Iva Tomova who scored 11 points and added six rebounds, while center Angela Pearson added 10 points and eight boards for the Orediggers.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE: The Wildcats are coming off a 27-4 season. They were the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Champions, earning a spot in the North Central Regional Championships. Their season was ended in the first round after a 74-59 setback to Concordia-St. Paul. Last year, the Wildcats beat the Orediggers 76-37.

ABOUT NORTHERN STATE: The Wolverines are coming of a season in which they posted an 25-7 mark. They were the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference runner-up to Wayne State. They went on to make it to the semifinals of the North Central Regional Championships where they lost to North Dakota 90-58. Last season, Mines lost to the Wolverines 92-62.

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.

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.

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.

MOVING UP LIKE THE JEFFERSONS: Junior Liz Jeffries is the Orediggers best kept secret. Although not a double digit scorer or rebounder, 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. Watch out for Jeffries to have a breakout season in 2006-07.

“PIERCING" PEARSON: Angela Pearson has one of the toughest jobs this season, replacing standout Ashley Gronewoller. After being in Gronewoller’s shadow, the 6 foot Pearson now gets her chance to start for the first time in her career. 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.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Freshman Emily Dalton, Savannah Afoa, Brecca Gaffney and Kaitlin Sohner will play for the first time for Mines as they get their collegiate careers started.