GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – For the second consecutive year the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will host the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament which is set to begin Friday night followed by a championship game on Saturday. The first semifinal game will feature #1-seeded Colorado Mesa versus #4 seeded Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 pm followed by another semifinal game at 7:30 pm which will feature #3-seeded Westminster and #7-seeded Dixie State.
The winner of each game will compete in the RMAC Tournament Championship on Saturday at 6 pm in Brownson Arena.
All About the Mavs
Announced on Tuesday afternoon by conference officials head coach Taylor Wagner picked up his fifth Coach of the Year honor, making it back-to-back seasons he has won the award. In just eight years as head coach Wagner has accumulated a 192-46 overall record and is 12-4 in the RMAC Tournament. He's won three tournament titles (2013, 2014, 2019) and five regular season championships.
Sydni Brandon was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year and earned her second consecutive All-RMAC First Team honor. This was the first time in program history a Maverick earned the defensive accolade. Brandon has led the conference in steals (83) and recorded the highest assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8).
Daniella Turner, who leads the Mavericks in scoring, is averaging 15.5 points per game and has recorded 21 double figure scoring games this season to earn First Team All-RMAC honors for the first time in her career. The Boca Raton, Fla. native has led the Mavs in scoring 14 times this season and been named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this year.
Kelsey Siemons, who was recognized on the second team All-RMAC list, has recorded the most blocks (43) in the conference and the fifth highest three-point field goal percentage (38.3). She recorded a career high seven blocks against Western Colorado earlier this season and earned Defensive Player of the Week.
Kylyn Rigsby, All-RMAC Honorable Mention honoree, is averaging the second highest points per game (10.9) and recorded a career high 26 points in the quarterfinal game against MSU Denver.
Sierra McNicol who is averaging 26.0 minutes per game this season is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game and 6.3 points per game.
Regional Rankings
In the final regional ranking before the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show on March 8 the Mavericks were ranked No. 4 for the third consecutive week.
Lubbock Christian was ranked first followed by West Texas who is second. Texas A&M-Commerce is ranked one spot ahead of the Mavericks in third.
Western Colorado and Westminster follow in fifth and sixth respectively. Angelo State and Tarleton State are in the seventh and eighth position.
The selection show on March 8 will announced the top eight teams of the region who will compete in the South Central Region Tournament. The South Central region is made up of the RMAC and the Lone Star Conference who will each get and automatic bid for their conference tournament winner.
Scouting Colorado School of Mines
The Orediggers are led by RMAC Player of the Year Denali Pinto who leads the conference and region in scoring averaging 20.2 points per game. The sophomore is averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. Sammy Van Sickle is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game to lead the team.
Pinto has reached the free throw line 185 time this season and is shooting 87.0 percent from the line.
The Mavericks saw the Orediggers one time during the regular season and walk away with a 55-53 road win. The Mavericks are 15-4 overall against the Orediggers and have won the previous six matchups. When playing at home the Mavs are 9-1 against Colorado School of Mines.
The Orediggers are shooting 39.4 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from the three-point line, and 78.9 percent from the free throw line to average 69.0 points per game.
Up Next
With a win the Mavericks will advance to the finals of the RMAC Tournament for the second consecutive time and face the winner of Westminster and Dixie State. With a loss the Mavericks will await their seeding to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball South Central Tournament which will be announced on March 8 at the selection show.
