GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado rallied from seven back in the fourth quarter, holding visiting Colorado School of Mines scoreless over the final five minutes to earn a 61-55 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over the Orediggers Thursday evening in Paul Wright Gym.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. CSM, 61-55
Records: Western 14-6 overall (9-4 RMAC), Mines 8-13 (6-7)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Western owned the lead for most of the first quarter, but Mines opened the second on a 10-0 run to move in front, 25-20, and held the Mountaineers to 13 points in the frame to take a 34-29 lead into the halftime break.
• Down by 11, 42-31, midway through the third it was Western's turn to embark on a scoring run. Ivey Schmidt put in six of the 10-point burst, getting help from a 3-pointer by Natalie Jojola and a pair of Chloe Daniels free throws that would pull the Mountaineers to within a point.
• Mines would eventually increase its cushion to seven, 54-47, and soon after led by six, 55-49, hitting just the front end of a pair of free throws at the 5:42 mark of the fourth quarter.
•  Jayde Tschritter ignited the comeback on Western's next possession, hitting her first 3-pointer of the game, dropping one in from the left wing. Tschritter wasn't done, though, driving the left side of the lane to break free from her defender and hitting a layup off a well-place pass from Brooklyn Seymour on the right.
• Trailing now by just a point (55-54) the lead changed hands for the first time since the second quarter as Schmidt beat her defender to put in a driving layup from the left side of the lane to lift the Mountaineers in front.
• Mines, eventually shooting only 19 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter, was forced to foul down the stretch and Schmidt hit five of six from the stripe to seal away the comeback win.

COURT NOTES

• Schmidt's 19 points led all scorers, while Rachel Cockman and Jojola each added 9 points. Jenna Siebert paced Mines with 12 points.
• The Orediggers made the most of a hot second quarter, shooting 75% (9-of-12) from the floor to earn their halftime lead. Western's defense made things much tougher in the second half as Mines shot only 26% in the third and that lowly 19% in the fourth when they were held without a point over the final 5:42.
• The Mountaineers were able to rally in the fourth behind 6-for-12 shooting over the final 10 minutes.
• Mines finished at 37% shooting for the night, including just 2 of 14 from behind the arc, while Western ended the night hitting 41%.
• The win ended an eight-game win streak that Mines had built over the Mountaineers.

THEY SAID IT


UP NEXT
Western heads into a Saturday RMAC match-up against MSU Denver (6-15, 5-8), a 72-44 loser at Colorado Mesa on Thursday night.