GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. –
Karina Brandon's first career double-double as a Maverick led Colorado Mesa to a 63-46 win over the visiting Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Friday evening in Brownson Arena in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball action.
The junior led the Mavericks with 12 rebounds including four on the offensive glass. The 12 boards is the individual season-high for the Mavericks. Her double-double is the second of the season for Colorado Mesa.
Brandon and
Erin Reichle never left the floor playing the full 40 minutes. Only eight Mavericks saw action on the night. Reichle finished the evening with nine points and seven assists.
Colorado Mesa led the game for over 34 minutes but didn't pull away from the Orediggers until late in the fourth quarter when they led by as many as 22 points with 6:23 to play at 58-36.
The Mavericks led 15-13 after the first quarter of action and 27-21 at the half.
Colorado Mesa relied on its defense to make plays in the second and fourth quarters. The Orediggers shot just 18.8 percent (3-for-16) in the second quarter and 16.7 percent (2-for-12) in the fourth quarter of action. The Mavericks limited Mines to 27.5 percent for the game, the third lowest output by any team this season.
They also limited the Orediggers to just one made three-point basket on the night.
Local product
Sydni Brandon made her mark on the defensive end of the floor coming away with three steals, a block and six rebounds, five on the defensive end.
Conversely, the Mavericks shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the floor including 43.5 percent from downtown.
Jaylyn Duran tied for the game-high with 15 points with
Kelli Van Tassel finishing with 10 on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point line. They were her first points in four games.
Ma'ata Epenisa finished with 14 points.
Colorado Mesa improved to 12-4 on the season and 6-4 in the RMAC while Mines fell to 9-6 on the year and 6-3 in the conference.
The Mavericks will be back in action tomorrow night at 5:30pm when they take on the Colorado Christian Cougars in Brownson Arena.
