GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa Mavericks (18-1, 15-0) will travel to Utah for games against Westminster and Dixie State. The Mavericks will tipoff against Westminster on Friday night at 5:30 pm in Salk Lake City, Utah. The next day the Mavs will face Westminster at 5:30 pm on Saturday night in St. George, Utah.
The Mavericks defeated both of these teams two weeks ago in Grand Junction, Colo. Their defense limited each team to their lowest scoring of the season.
Colorado Mesa is the only team the Griffins of Westminster have lost to this conference season.
A Look at the Mavericks
As a unit the Mavericks are shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from the three-point line. This team ranks second in the nation for defense only allowing 49.9 point per game. As a defense they are limiting teams to 34.6 percent from the field and just 29.0 percent from the three-point line.
The Mavs are offensively led by Jaylyn Duran who is averaging 20.6 points per game which leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. She leads the team from the free throw line with an 81.6 percentage. Kylyn Rigsby is the Mavericks second leading scoring with 9.2 points per game. Las Vegas, Nev. native Karina Brandon is a solid player for the Mavericks scoring 7.0 points per game and grabbing 4.9 rebounds a game. She leads the Maverick's starting five from the field shooting 44.7 percent. Kelsey Siemons leads the Mavs from the three shooting 37.7 percent and she leads the RMAC in blocks with 31. The Mavericks point guard Sydni Brandon ranks third nationally for assists to turnover ratio. She gives 3.54 assists to every one of her turnovers.
National Ranking
The Mavericks moved up three spots from last week to No. 16 in the WBCA Coaches' Top 25 poll. They have been ranked for four consecutive weeks dating back to Jan 15, 2019.
Colorado Mesa broke the top ten in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball National Poll at the No. 10 spot. They kept their No. 1 position in the South Central Region and have been ranked there since Jan 21. Westminster sits fourth in the regional rankings.
Scouting Westminster
The Griffins are second in the RMAC with a 14-1 record. Their only loss came from the Mavericks back on Jan 26 by a score of 57-49. The Mavericks defense limited Westminster to their lowest scoring performance of the season. Westminster's roster includes four players averaging double digit in points. Hunter Krebs and Olivia Ellis are two of this four players who also are averaging more than six rebounds a game.
Denise Gonzales of Westminster was the RMAC's Preseason Player of the Year. She leads the Griffins in scoring with 14.7 points per game and averages 4.7 assists per game. As a team the Griffins are shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 38.0 percent from the three-point line.
Westminster leads the RMAC in offensive averaging 70.8 points per game. In the Mavericks last meeting with them in Brownson Arena the Mavs limited them to just 49 points.
Scouting Dixie State
The Trailblazers are shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from the three-point line. They are led offensively by Ali Franks who averages 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds. There six foot forward leads the team in rebounds with 6.6 per game.
They sit ninth in the conference with a 7-8 record.
