GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – For the second consecutive season the Colorado Mesa Maverick women's basketball team will enter the RMAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. As the top team the Mavericks (23-5, 19-3) will host MSU Denver (13-15, 12-10) in a quarterfinal matchup which will take place March 3 at 5:30 pm inside Brownson Arena.
The tournament features the top eight teams of the RMAC with quarterfinals games being hosted at the top four seeded teams home institutions. After Tuesday, the highest remaining seed will host semifinal games and the championship game on March 6 and 7, respectively.
The tournament bracket and links to live stream, live stats, and tickets can be found above.
All About the Mavs
This season the Mavericks clinched their tenth program title and fifth under the direction of head coach Taylor Wagner who is in his eighth season at Colorado Mesa. In those eight seasons the Mavericks are 11-4 in the RMAC Tournament and have won three tournament titles. The Mavs will attempt to win their second consecutive tournament title this week as they won last year's tournament and regular season.
The Mavericks won back-to-back tournament titles in 2013 and 2014 under the direction of Wagner.
As the team's leading scorer, Daniella Turner is averaging 15.5 points per game and has recorded the most field goals among RMAC opponents (178). Her scoring average ranks eighth in the conference while her 41.2 shooting percentage ranks ninth. Turner has recorded nine consecutive double-figure scoring games entering the weekend and 20 throughout the season.
Sydni Brandon, the Mavs starting point guard, leads the conference in steals (80), and assists-to-turnover ratio (2.7). The Grand Junction, Colo. native has recorded 122 assists this season and has 317 in her career. She currently leads the team with 6.1 rebounds per game.
Kelsey Siemons who leads the team in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent ranks fourth in the RMAC. She's knocked down a team high 62 three-pointers which is over half of her made field goals this season. The Tucson, Ariz. native is averaging the third most points on the team at 9.9 points per contest.
As the Mavericks second best scorer, Kylyn Rigsby is averaging 10.4 points per game and shooting 35.4 percent from the field. The junior out of De Beque, Colo. has recorded the third most steals on the team (22) and knocked down the second most three-pointers (53).
The Mavericks are shooting 39.6 percent from the field, 29.8 percent from the three-point line, and 67.5 percent from the free throw line to average 61.3 points per game.
Defensively the Mavericks are limiting teams to 49.1 points per game which ranks second nationally.
Scouting MSU Denver
The Mavericks are 11-10 all-time against the Roadrunners and have defeated them in the previous two matchups. In the most recent outing, which took place in Brownson Arena on Dec 13, 2019, the Mavericks defeated the Roadrunners 70-61.
The Mavericks saw the Roadrunners in the RMAC Tournament during the 2017-2018 season and fell 71-58 in Denver, Colo.
The Roadrunners are led by Bree Wellington who averages 10.4 points per game and is shooting 48.1 percent from the field. The senior has made 101 field goals over the season to lead the Roadrunner with only two field goals coming from beyond the three-point line.
Beyond the arc, the Roadrunners are led by Maggie Justinak who is shooting 31.1 percent from the three-point line and has made a team high 42 three-pointers. Morgan Lewis leads the team in rebounding averaging 6.2 per game.
The Roadrunners are shooting 39.0 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from the three-point line, and 71.6 percent from the free-throw line to average 61.1 points per game.
Up Next
With a win on Tuesday the Mavericks will host the remainder of the RMAC Tournament on March 6 and 7. With a loss on Tuesday the Mavericks will await their seeding to NCAA Division II Women's Basketball South Central Tournament which will be announced on March 8 at the selection show. The final regional ranking will be released on March 4 prior to the selection show. The Mavericks were ranked fourth regionally in the previous two rankings that were released on Feb 19 and Feb 26.
