The Mavericks (6-1, 3-0) are currently on a five game winning streak and will look to pick up two more wins on the road this weekend at MSU-Denver and Chadron State. Colorado Mesa will first travel to MSU-Denver for a game on Saturday night at 4 p.m. Following this game the Mavs will finish the weekend at Chadron State on Sunday at 3:30 pm. This will be the Mavericks last game until after the New Year. They will resume their season after break on Jan 4 and 5 in Browson Arena.

This will be the Mavericks first two-game road test of the 2018-2019 RMAC season. Head coach Taylor Wagner mentioned, "Games before finals are always hard to manage. I hope we can concentrate for one more week and go into the New Year on a high note. This will be a difficult road trip. Each place is hard to play in and I think they are both physical teams. We need to play our best basketball this weekend."

Mavericks Defense

This year the Mavericks lead the RMAC is defense and are limiting opponents to just 50.6 points per game which is fifth best in the country. The Mavericks are averaging 8.1 steals per game and 4.3 blocks per game. This past weekend Tori Catlett set a career high seven blocks in the Mavericks win against Colorado School of Mines.

Wanger added, "I think this team takes pride in their defense. With each game they have gained confidence in their ability to guard. We have always stressed defense here at Colorado Mesa, but each team has been different in their approach."

This team approach is similar to some of the most successful teams that have played here at Colorado Mesa. Since Wagner took over the program he has never coached a team whose defense averaged above 61 points. This far in the season this is his best team yet at 50.6. The NCAA Elite Eight team during the 2012-2013 season allowed on average opponents to score 53.88 points per game.

This scoring defense is not only leading the RMAC but is one of the top defenses in the country coming in ranked fifth amongst all NCAA Division II schools.

Kelsey Siemons and Tori Catlett are amongst the best shot blockers in the RMAC. Siemons averages 1.7 blocked shots per game which makes her second best in the RMAC while Catlett comes in third best averaging 1.6 blocks per game.

Regional Poll

The Mavericks moved up to No.7 in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball Week 4 Media Regional Poll. The Mavericks are tied with four other schools at the No. 7 position. The only other RMAC School in the regional poll is Black Hills State who is No. 6. Colorado Christian and Regis University are receiving votes.

Scouting MSU-Denver

The Roadrunner sit 2-1 in the conference and 3-5 overall. The Mavericks and Roadrunners share no common opponents and they have faced two top teams with that being at the time No. 7 West Texas A&M and No. 10 Lubbock Christian. They lost both of these top ten meetings. 

The Roadrunners roster includes a player with the second best field goal percentage in the RMAC. Emily Hartegan is shooting 56.8% from the field and is the Roadrunners second leading scorer at 15.8 points per game. The Roadrunners have two players averaging double-digits.

Scouting Chadron State

Before the Mavericks and Chadron State play on Sunday the Eagles will face Western State on Friday night. Entering the weekend the Eagles are last in the conference with a 1-8 overall record and a 0-3 RMAC record. Their one win comes from a 55-51 defeat over Texas A&M International. The Eagles are led by Taryn Foxen who is averaging 14.0 points per game.

After the New Year