The Colorado Mesa women’s basketball team set the school record for wins in a season Friday night with a 94-57 domination of fifth-seeded Black Hills State in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament at Brownson Arena.
The top-seeded Mavericks, who won their 29th consecutive game, improved to 32-1 with the win, eclipsing their previous program record for wins set in the 2012-13 season, the first under head coach Taylor Wagner. The Mavericks rode a 31-2 record all the way to the Elite Eight that season, a peak to which the program has yet to return.
Mesa couldn’t get the ball to go into the basket on each of its first two possessions, but Friday’s contest was all Mavericks shortly thereafter. CMU outscored the Yellowjackets by 10 points in the first quarter and 18 points in the second to take a 54-28 advantage into halftime. The second half was much of the same, with the Mavericks maintaining a healthy lead throughout — even with mainly reserves playing for much of the fourth quarter.
“We talked about our defense showing up toady, and I was really proud of the girls in that first half. We really locked in, especially in that second quarter,” Wagner said. “The defense fueled that offense.”
Newly-minted three-time reigning RMAC player of the year Olivia Reed Thyne gave Black Hills State fits throughout the evening, compiling 22 points in the first half alone en route to a 40-point performance. The games was only the second in her career scoring at least 40 points — as a junior, the Windsor native scored a career-best 45 points in a loss to Pittsburg State.
“At the end of the day, always the goal when you go into a game is to win. When you do get the win, it’s a lot easier to celebrate those individual performances,” the usually spotlight-sidestepping Reed Thyne said.
Also contributing was redshirt sophomore Mason Rowland, who scored 21 points and added six rebounds. Also adding double-digit points was true freshman Hallie Clark, who scored 10 points behind a pair of 3-pointers.
“This year, we haven’t really felt any pressure. Our mentality has been, ‘We’re going to go out and play our butts off, and get as far as we can,’” Rowland said. “Being where we are is a testament to our work ethic. We’re right where we want to be.”
Black Hills State never truly established its footing in the contest, shooting a meager 41% from the floor overall. The Yellowjackets did not net their first 3-pointer of the night until Colorado State transfer Taylor Ray sank a deep ball with 13 seconds remaining in regulation; prior to that, they had been 0 for 9 from beyond the arc. The Mavericks, in contrast, shot 60% from the floor, including 33% from deep, and 78% from the free-throw line.
With the win, the nationally fourth-ranked Mavericks advanced to the RMAC championship game for the second consecutive season. Colorado Mesa will play for their first conference tournament crown since the 2019-20 season today. The matchup marks likely the final opportunity that fans in the Grand Valley will have to see the Mavericks play at Brownson Arena in 2025-26, and the final home game in the illustrious career of Reed Thyne, the RMAC’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
“People should come and watch us (today) because of the work we’ve put in. I think we’re fun to watch, so I hope people come out!” Reed Thyne said.
Tip-off for tonight’s game is slated for 6 p.m.
The Colorado Mesa men’s basketball also advanced to tonight’s conference championship game with a 57-56 victory over CSU Pueblo on Friday in Spearfish, South Dakota.
The Mavericks trailed by as many as seven points in the final five minutes of the game. The Thunderwolves hit a pair of free throws with 4:54 remaining in regulation for a 56-49 lead, but their shooting turned cold, as CSU Pueblo players missed each of their final 10 field goals to squander the lead. Colorado Mesa, meanwhile, connected on each of its final three field goals and rode an extended 8-0 run in the final 3:42 of regulation to eke out the win.
Junior Ben Henderson’s jumper with 53 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Mavericks their first lead in nearly 12 minutes of play. The field goal marked the final points in CMU’s win. Henderson finished with 11 points, one of four Mavericks to reach double figures. Sophomore Harvey White had 11 points, junior Clayton Jewell added 10 and redshirt senior Ty Allred had a game-high 16 on 5 of 9 shooting.…Read more by ADAM BUSACK Adam.Busack@gjsentinel.com