Oredigger basketball is gearing up for their final test before they dive back into Frontier Conference play. Both the Women and Men will be home today hosting St. Mary’s College, and Friday they will host Keyano University. The women will play at 2 pm on both days, followed by the men at 4 pm.

Starting with the women.

Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
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St. Mary’s College, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, rolls into the Mining City with a 9-4 record, and the Huskies are averaging 82 points a contest. They are led by senior Sophia Widmeyer who is getting 19 points per game. Also in double digits is Alaina McMillan at 16 points a game, and Lucina Beaumont is at 10 a game.

Friday’s opponents are also Huskies, this time from Keyano University out of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Keyano comes to Montana with an 11-7 overall record. The Huskies have 4 ladies averaging in double digits. Kaylynn Tucker leads them with 12 points a game, Maja Besic is at 11, Joy Victor comes in at 10.5 and Kayla Lutterodt puts up 10 a game.

Montana Tech's Tavia Rooney blocks the shot of Rocky's McKenzie Dethman. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Montana Tech's Tavia Rooney blocks the shot of Rocky's McKenzie Dethman. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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The lady Diggs make their way home to the HPER looking to get back in the Win column. Montana Tech is 2-8 overall and are coming off a pair of battles in Arizona at the Cactus Classic. Tech continues to be led by Tavia Rooney with 12 points, and 8 rebounds a game. Aubrey Rademacher has had an outstanding start to the season with 10 points a game, and senior leader Dani Urick comes in at just under 10 points a game.

Tavia drives to the basket. Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
Tavia drives to the basket. Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
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To the men’s side.

St. Mary’s College is HUGE on paper, but also very young. It’s not every day we get a 7-footer on Kelvin Sampson court. Topaz Nnani is that 7-footer, he is a freshman for the Huskies, getting a handful of minutes a game. St. Mary’s comes in 8-7 overall and are a team that likes to get up and down the floor, averaging 87 points a game. They are led by 5th-year senior, Dontae Mitchell averaging 21 points a game. Not far behind him is Shae Linton- Brown at 18 a game, and Jayrell Diggs (obviously plays for the wrong school) comes in at 18 a game as well.

Caleb Bellach- Photo courtesy of Brianna Omara/BnO Photography
Caleb Bellach- Photo courtesy of Brianna Omara/BnO Photography
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The Huskies of Keyano University come to Montana, undefeated. They are 19-0 on the season. In those 19 games, they average 90 points a game. With that said it is pretty easy to see why they have 5 guys averaging double figures. Sean-Michael Clancy leads them with 20 a game, Omeechi Williams averages 18, Taliik Ross is next with 16 a game, and Jusci Thompson and DJ Haynes both come in at 10 points a game.

Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
Photo courtesy of JonWick5518 designs- Townsquare
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The Oredigger men are coming home after a pair of big wins in New Mexico. The biggest discrepancy between both Husky programs and the Orediggers is in the average points scored Vs. the Digger D. As I mentioned earlier both Husky teams average nearly 90 points a game, Coach Hiatt and the Orediggers only give up 64 a game on average. Caleb Bellach continues to lead a high-powered Montana Tech offense with 16 points a game. Michael Ure, Keeley Bake and Asa Williams all come in it 13 points a game, and Hayden Diekhans is just out of double digits at 9 points a game.

Asa Williams- Orediggers Asa Wiliams attemts to finish a Caleb Bellach alley-oop attempt. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
Asa Williams- Orediggers Asa Wiliams attemts to finish a Caleb Bellach alley-oop attempt. Photo: Tommy O/Townsquare Media
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The final games of 2022 for the Orediggers today and tomorrow at the HPER, women at 2, and the men at 4 both days. Then back into the meatgrinder that is the Frontier Conference on January 5th.

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