GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa University Women's Basketball program will officially begin the 2019 season at the Texan Tip-Off Classic in Stephenville, TX hosted by Tarleton State. The Mavs will face Cameron University on Nov 8 at 1:30 pm MT followed by Tarleton State on Nov 9 at 4 pm MT.
Links to the live stream and live statistics can be found above.
All about the Mavs
The Mavericks are coming off a historical season where they went 27-4 overall to win the program's fourth RMAC Tournament Championship and third under head coach Taylor Wagner who enters his eighth season as the women's basketball head coach.
The Mavericks were also crowned regular season champions with their 20-2 conference record and hosted NCAA Tournament games for just the third time his school history. Last season the Mavs made their fifth NCAA appearance in school history and fourth under the direction of Wagner.
The Mavs were picked to repeat as this year's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Champions per the 2019 Coaches Poll.
The Mavericks are returning three starters from a season ago. Sydni Brandon and Kylyn Rigsby started in each of the Mavs' 31 games last season and Kelsey Siemons was the starting forward in all but one contest.
The Mavericks lost Karina Brandon, Jaylyn Duran, and Kelli Van Tassel who graduated last year and accounted for 67% of the Mavericks scoring during the 2018-19 season.
Along with Sydni Brandon, this year's senior class includes Tori Catlett, Sariah Wi Neera. Catlett played in each of the Mavericks games and shot 60.0% from the field to lead the team.
Exhibition Recap
Prior to opening up the season against Cameron, the Mavericks played one exhibition contest against Denver University and lost by a score of 95-79.
In that game Siemons, Rigsby, Sierra McNicol, Sydni Brandon, and Elly Walters were named the starting five.
Off the bench, Daniella Turner scored 25 points (9-of-20 FG) and was followed by Morgan Myers who was the only other Maverick to score in double digits posting 13 points and shooting 4-of-6 from the field.
Brandon, who was the nation's statistical champion last season in assists-to-turnover ratio, dished out a game high six assists.
National Attention
The Mavericks are ranked No. 11 by the D2SIDA, which was released on Oct 29. In the same media poll Colorado Mesa was ranked No. 2 in the South Central Regional Poll.
The voting is compiled by three sports information directors from the Lone Star Conference and three sports information directors from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the South Central Regional Poll. Two SIDs from each of the Division II's eight regions vote in the national poll.
The Mavericks are not listed in the WBCA Coaches Top 25 poll but listed as "others receiving votes on at least two ballots"
Scouting Cameron
The Aggies will begin their season against Colorado Mesa after coming off a 8-20 season last year. In this year's Lone Star Conference they were tabbed 14th in the preseason poll after posting a 5-15 conference record last season.
The Aggies are returning two of their three top scorers from last season. Ava Battese averaged the team's third highest points at 10.8 ppg last season. Maighan Hedge, the other returner, averaged 15.0 ppg as a freshman last season to led the team.
Scouting Tarleton
The Texans are coming off a 22-9 season where they went 13-2 inside Widsom Gym where this weekend's games will be played.
The Texans ended the season last year falling to Lubbock Christian 84-53, inside Brownson Arena during the NCAA South Central Regional Championships when CMU hosted NCAA Tournament games as a apart of a split host site region.
That was the Texans' third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The Texans lost three of their four players from a season ago that averaged double-digits in scoring, but are returning their leading scoring Mackenzie Hailey who averaged 15.6 points per game. She led the team with 7.4 rebounds per game and shots a team high 54.6 percent from the field.
Tarleton women's basketball was picked to finish fifth in the annual Lone Star Conference preseason poll. A conference they finished 14-6 in a season ago.
The Texans will play Adams State on Friday Nov 8 for their season opener prior to the game against Colorado Mesa on Saturday.
Looking Ahead
The Mavericks will face Saint Martin's University and Northwest Nazarene University at the Dixie State Tournament in St. George, Utah from Nov 22-23.
