GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa Mavericks defeated Westminster 67-50 on Saturday night in front of 1,653 fans in Brownson Arena to claim the 2019 RMAC/ Under Armour Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. This was the fourth RMAC Tournament Championship in school history and the third under Head Coach Taylor Wagner.
Jaylyn Duran, Kylyn Rigsby and Kelsey Siemons were named to the All-RMAC Tournament Team along with Sydni Brandon who was crowned the Tournament MVP. Brandon averaged 14.7 points, 8.3 assists and 4.6 assists over the three-game tournament.
The Mavericks shot 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the field and 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from the three point line. The Mavericks hot shooting performance came at a good time as this was their only game of the season they shot 50.0 percent or above in both categories.
They went 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
The Mavericks were led by Jaylyn Duran who recorded 27 points (11-of-15). She knocked down three three-pointers to match Sydni Brandon's best three-point shooting performance of her career as she went 3-of-3 from downtown. One of her three treys included a shot from the opposite free-throw line at the last second of the third quarter that hit nothing but net to give the Mavericks a 44-32 lead entering the fourth. She totaled 13 points in tonight's victory.
Kylyn Rigsby matched Brandon's 13 points and was one rebound shy of her first career double-double as she grabbed 9 rebounds along with five assists.
The Grffin's shot 44.2 percent (19-of-43) and 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from beyond the three-point line. They went 8-of-9 from the line for an 88.9 free-throw shooting performance. Olivia Elliss and Kaitlin Toluono led Westminster with 12 points each.
Colorado Mesa out-rebounded the Griffins 29-22 and only allowed two offensive rebounds.
Game in Review
The Mavericks lead the entire Championship game and there was only one tie which occured in the second quarter. The Mavs were in control of the game the entire forty minutes as the Mesa defense never let Westminster go on a scoring run for more than six points.
After a nervous start for both teams Duran hit the first basket of the game at the 6:45 mark of the first quarter. As the only Maverick to score she extended the Mavs lead 7-2 at the media timeout. Risgsby and Siemons joined Duran in scoring and the Mavs reached a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Griffins outscored the Mavs 6-2 in the opening minutes of the second quarter and tied the game 15-15 at the 5:53 mark. Duran took it upon herself to not let the Griffins take the lead by scoring the next seven Maverick points. After the media timeout the Mavs outscored the Griffins 9-5 and held a 29-21 lead at the break.
The Mavericks came out of the locker room and had their best scoring run of the game to begin the third quarter when they scored six straight points and led 35-23. After this Westminster never got within nine points and the Mavericks extended their lead by 12 after Sydni Brandon hit her third three of the night.
Colorado Mesa continued to bury the Griffins away and gained their largest lead of the game with 2:56 remaining when they led 64-45. There was no need for Westminster to foul at the end as the Mavericks led by double-digits and Sydni Brandon was able to walk the ball up the court as the home crowd erupted for the 2019 RMAC Tournament Champions.
What's Next
The Mavericks are guaranteed an NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Tournament bid with this win and will await their seeding in the South Central Region which will be released Sunday night at 8 pm MT on the NCAA.com.
All-Tournament Team
Denali Pinto, Mines
Majestie Robinson, Regis
Kaitlin Toluono, Westminster
Denise Gonzalez, Wesminster
Kelsey Siemons, Colorado Mesa
Kylyn Rigsby, Colorado Mesa
Jaylyn Duran, Colorado Mesa
MVP: Sydni Brandon, Colorado Mesa
