GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team had clinched a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament but needed a win to clinch a quarterfinal home game and they got a big win.
 
The Mavericks knocked off fifth-ranked CSU-Pueblo 91-56 on senior night in Brownson Arena to clinch a home tournament game on Tuesday, February 28.
 
The loss was the worst for CSU-Pueblo since they lost to West Texas A&M by 31 points on November 30, 2013.
 
Colorado Mesa scored more points in the first half than the ThunderWolves scored in the entire game. The Mavericks shot 59 percent (22-for-37) from the floor in the half and were even better from beyond the arc at 63 percent (12-for-19).
 
The Mavericks limited the highest scoring offense in the conference at 73.3 points per game to just 56 points, their lowest output since last season.
 
Sophomore Jaylyn Duran scored 17 of her game-high 22 points in the first half. The Pueblo native was 6-for-9 from the field and 5-for-8 from three in the first half.
 
Colorado Mesa made 15 three-pointers and shot 51 percent from three on the night.
 
Junior Erin Reichle tied with Duran for the game-high with 22 points and was 5-for-9 from downtown.
 
The Mavericks took advantage of the ThunderWolves in the second quarter of play. CMU went on an 11-0 run from the 4:25 mark to the 1:21 mark of the quarter to extend its lead from 43-24 to 55-24.
 
Colorado Mesa had a big advantage on the glass where they outrebounded the ThunderWolves, 49-26. Freshman Tori Catlett pulled down a game and career-high nine rebounds.
 
CSU-Pueblo was led by the 18 points of Tuliesu Anderson, the RMAC's second leading scorer.
 
The loss was CSU-Pueblo's second of the season that drops them to 26-2 on the season while the Mavericks improve to 20-6 on the season.
 
Colorado Mesa will host Colorado Mines on Tuesday at 6pm in Brownson Arena in the quarterfinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.