GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After defeating Black Hills State University in a quarterfinal game of the 2019 RMAC/ Under Armour Women's Basketball Tournament the Mavericks will host the remaining games of the tournament in Brownson Arena beginning with their game against Colorado School of Mines Friday night at 5:30 pm.
Colorado Mesa racked up the end of the year RMAC awards this season after being picked in the Preseason Coaches Poll to finish seventh and ending up as the 2018-2019 Regular Season Champions. Senior Jaylyn Duran was crowned RMAC Player of the Year while Head Coach Taylor Wagner picked up his fourth Coach of the Year honor.
Sydni Brandon and Karina Brandon also picked up honors as they were named to All-RMAC teams. Jaylyn Duran and Sydni Brandon were both named to the First Team All-RMAC and Karina Brandon was named to the All-RMAC Honorable Mention list.
A Look at the Mavs
All season Jaylyn Duran has led the conference in scoring and she is currently averaging 18.4 points per game. As the Mavericks' best defender Sydni Brandon is averaging 7.0 points per game and leads the team in rebounds averaging 7.4 each contest. She's totaled 71 steals this season and recently recorded a career-high six in the Mavs' win over BHSU.
Kelsey Siemons ranks first in the RMAC with a total of 43 blocks this season. She recently recorded a career-high six blocks against Western State in the Mavericks final regular season game.
Natalie Bartle has been a huge spark off the bench late in the season for the Mavericks. The Michigan native has averaged 16 points a game over the last five games dating back to her career night at Regis when she recorded 25 points. In those five games she has made 18-of-20 free throws and made eight three pointers.
National Ranking
The Mavericks moved up one spot in the WBCA Coaches Poll to No. 20 and have been ranked for eight consecutive weeks dating back to Jan 15 when they entered the poll at No. 23.
In the D2SIDA Women's Basketball National Poll the Mavs checked in this week at No. 16. The Mavericks are the lone RMAC School in this media poll.
Regional Ranking
In the third NCAA Regional Rankings the Mavericks have dropped one spot from the previous release to No. 3.
West Texas A&M held the No.1 spot while Lubbock Christian jumped the Mavericks and took over No. 2.
The final regional ranking will be released this Sunday along with the National Tournament. The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show will air Sunday March 10th at 8:00 pm MT on NCAA.com.
Scouting Colorado School of Mines
The fourth-seed Orediggers defeated fifth-seed CSU Pueblo in the quarterfinals of the RMAC/ Under Armour Women's Basketball Tournament last Tuesday by a score of 62-57. Colorado School of Mines finished the RMAC season with a 14-8 record and are now 18-10 overall.
They are shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from the three-point line. They are led by RMAC Freshmen of the Year who is averaging 14.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
These two team last met Dec 8th in Brownson Arena as Mavericks defeated the Orediggers 50-45. This was their only meeting of the regular season.
Tournament Schedule
Friday
Semifinal game 1: No. 1 Colorado Mesa vs. No. 4 Colorado School of Mines @ 5:30 pm
Semifinal game 2: No. 2 Westminster vs. No. 6 Regis @ 7:30 pm
Saturday
Championship game: Winner of Semifinal Game 1 vs Winner of Semifinal Game 2 @ 6:00 pm
