GUNNISON, Colo. Western Colorado whittled a 16-point third-quarter deficit down to just five with under five minutes to play in the game Friday evening, but visiting Colorado School of Mines held off the late Mountaineer charge for a 74-64 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball victory at Paul Wright Gym.

Katie Dalton pushed in a layup with 4:57 to play in the fourth quarter, was fouled on the shot, and added the and-one free throw to pull Western to within five at 60-55. But the Orediggers responded with a 7-0 run to elevate their advantage back to double digits, where it remained through to the final buzzer.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Colo. School of Mines def. Western Colorado, 74-64
Records: Western Colorado 4-6 (2-3 RMAC), Colo. School of Mines 9-1 (4-0)
Location: Paul Wright Gym; Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Mines led 49-33 at the 4:38 mark of the third quarter, a 16-point bulge that began to get trimmed with a pair of Samantha Coleman free throws.
• The come-back was slow going at first – the quarter ended with Mines leading by 12 – but Western had begun to build momentum, slashing the lead to just eight, 55-47, on a Dalton layup in the early minutes of the final quarter.
• Mines scored the next bucket, only to have the Mountaineers go on a 5-0 run to pull with five for the first time in the period. The Orediggers extended their advantage back to eight, 60-52, but Dalton registered her basket-and-one to trim the deficit once again to just five.
• Mines dropped in one of two free throws on their next possession, then turned a Western turnover into 3-pointer by Sammy Van Sickle, which pushed its lead out to nine. Another Mountaineer turnover again turned into Oredigger points, a Courtney Stanton layup, lifting Mines to a more comfortable double-digit advantage.
• Western had an early stretch with the lead in the first quarter, breaking a 2-2 tie on a Grace Kirscher trey. A Coleman free throw and a Rachel Cockman layup on ensuing possessions allowed the Mountaineers to hold onto their slim lead.
• Kirscher dropped in another 3-pointer in the second quarter, erasing a 16-13 Mines lead, and a defensive rebound by Coleman became a Dalton jumper from in the paint for an 18-16 Western edge, but unanswered buckets by Mines provided the visitors with a lead, 20-18, that it would hole onto over the rest of the game.

COURT NOTES

• Kirscher and Dalton led Western in scoring, each adding 13 points to the team total. Kirscher's total included a 3-for-5 night from behind the arc. Cockman registered a season-best 10 points to aid in the Mountaineer come-back attempt.
• Western shot 67 percent from the floor in the final period, outscoring the Orediggers 21-19.
• Rebounding, especially in the offensive ends, separated the Orediggers and Mountaineers. Mines finished with a 46-23 advantage off the glass, including a 26-5 bulge in offensive rebounds.
• Though Western had 20 turnovers to Mines' 13, the Mountaineers were better at flipping those miscues into points, scoring 21 off Oredigger turnovers while Mines netted just 16 points off the greater number of turnover opportunities.

UP NEXT

• The Mountaineers will entertain Regis University Saturday at Paul Wright Gym in a 4 p.m. RMAC contest.
• Mines heads to Durango, Colo., to square off with Fort Lewis College in a conference tilt.