Colorado School of Mines Named Preseason Favorites Ahead of 2021-22 Women’s Basketball Campaign
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines is the favorite heading into the 2021-22 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Women’s Basketball season, the league announced Wednesday in its preseason coaches poll. The RMAC preseason women’s basketball coaches poll is voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their program.
The Orediggers enter the 2021-22 campaign as the league favorite after earning 11 first-place votes and 190 points in preseason voting. Colorado School of Mines concluded the 2020-21 season with a stellar 17-3 overall record and a 14-3 mark in conference play. The Orediggers rode their impressive record to a berth in the championship game of the RMAC Tournament last season and closed out the year ranked seventh nationally for team steals (245) and ninth in the nation for scoring defense, allowing just 55 points per game. Head coach Brittany Simpson returns to lead Mines after being named the RMAC Coach of the Year last season. Denali Pinto, Courtney Stanton and Sammy Van Sickle all return for the Orediggers after earning all-conference distinctions last season.
Colorado Mesa earns the second-place position with 164 points and a pair of first-place votes. The Mavericks closed out last season with a 14-8 overall record and a 13-7 record in RMAC play, earning a spot in the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament. Daniella Turner returns for Colorado Mesa after earning a first team all-conference nod last season. Defense has been a point of focus for the Mavericks, who ranked first in the nation for field-goal percentage defense last season, where they limited foes to a 32.4-percent field-goal average. CMU also closed out last season’s play with 99 blocks as a team, a mark that stood eighth nationally.
MSU Denver claims the third-place position on the preseason poll with 164 points. The Roadrunners’ roster is loaded as the 2020-21 RMAC Player of the Year, Allie Navarette, and Freshman of the Year, Kendra Parra, return for the 2021-22 campaign. MSU Denver finished the 2020-21 season with an 11-4 mark in conference play and a 12-6 overall record.
Western Colorado claims the fourth-place position with 150 points and a first-place vote, while Westminster rounds out the top five with 147 points. Colorado State University Pueblo stands sixth overall with one first-place vote and 134 points. Black Hills State occupies the seventh-place spot with 116 points, just ahead of eighth-place South Dakota Mines with 110 points. Regis is ninth overall with 102 points, followed by 10th-place Colorado Christian with 71 points.
There is a three-way tie for 11th place between Adams State, Fort Lewis and University of Colorado Colorado Springs, with each team earning 66 points in preseason voting. Chadron State claims 14th place with 25 points, while New Mexico Highlands rounds out the poll with 17 points.
2021-22 RMAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Colorado School of Mines (11) |
190 |
| 2. Colorado Mesa (2) |
164 |
| 3. Metropolitan State University of Denver |
151 |
| 4. Western Colorado (1) |
150 |
| 5. Westminster |
147 |
| 6. Colorado State University of Pueblo (1) |
134 |
| 7. Black Hills State |
116 |
| 8. South Dakota Mines |
110 |
| 9. Regis |
102 |
| 10. Colorado Christian |
71 |
| T11. Adams State |
66 |
| T11. Fort Lewis |
66 |
| T11. University of Colorado Colorado Springs |
66 |
| 14. Chadron State |
25 |
| 15. New Mexico Highlands |
17 |