The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will open the season up on Friday and Saturday in the Lone Star State as part of the South Central Region Challenge in Canyon, Texas. The Mavericks will take on the Texas Permian Basin Falcons on Friday before a tilt with the host West Texas A&M Buffs on Saturday.
 
SEASON OPENERS
Colorado Mesa has been good in season openers since head coach Taylor Wagner has taken the program over. In fact, the Mavericks are 9-0 in those matchups in Wagner's previous nine years in charge of the program.
 
During that time, the Mavericks have defeated Simon Fraser, Northwestern Oklahoma State, Palm Beach Atlantic, Arkansas Fort Smith, Dixie State, Midwestern State, Saint Martin's, and Cameron.
 
Last season, the Mavericks opened with a 75-61 win over Colorado Christian on December 4.
 
THE CORE
The Mavericks return three of their four starters from last year's RMAC Tournament semifinal team. Sophie Anderson, Daniella Turner, and Kelsey Siemons all return to the lineup for their fifth and final seasons in a Maverick uniform.
 
Anderson played in and started 21 of the 22 games last season and averaged 4.1 points and 5.4 rebounds while Siemons played in and started all 22 games and averaged 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds.
 
Former WBCA all-American Daniella Turner was hurt off and on all last season but still managed to garner all-RMAC honors and average 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
Add in third year player Savannah Domgaard and second year junior Monica Brooks who will rotate in at the four and five spots on the floor, the Mavericks have a solid nucleus of players that have seen extended minutes in the past.
 
FAMILIAR FACE?
Fans of the Mavericks will see a new athlete running the point this year for the Mavericks. But, they may recognize the face after witnessing plenty of the battles between Westminster and Colorado Mesa over the last two seasons.
 
Enter Mariah Martin. The former Griffin transferred to Colorado Mesa after garnering all-RMAC second team honors a year ago and helped lead Westminster to the NCAA West Region Championship game in Brownson Arena.
 
She averaged 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists last season and had 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists in the region championship game against Azusa Pacific.
 
LOCAL FLARE
The Mavericks will have a trio of Western Slope products on the roster this year. Senior Sophie Anderson (Paonia) returns and will likely return to the starting lineup for the third straight season while Sara Geddes (Delta) enters her second season coming off an injury last year.
 
Grand Junction Central High School product Leah Redding is a freshman on the squad and could see minutes early in the season. Redding comes into the program after winning back-to-back Southwestern League Player of the Year accolades.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Colorado Mesa has played Texas Permian Basin just once before this season's matchup. That occurred in the South Central Region Semifinal, a 78-68 win in Brownson Arena during the 2012-13 season where the Mavericks made it to the Elite Eight.
 
The Falcons went 6-12 during last season's COVID shortened schedule but had wins over Midwestern State and an upstart Texas Tyler squad.
 
Alexus Quaadman is the top returning scorer and rebounder averaging 7.1 points and 6.9 rebounds a night during her sophomore season. Quaadman had back-to-back 16 point night's last year against Texas Women's and Cameron. Against the Aggies, she finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
Colorado Mesa has yet to win in five tries all-time against the Buffs with the most recent matchup occurring during the 2015-16 season in Golden.
 
West Texas A&M opened the season on October 29 as hosts of the D2CCA Tipoff Classic. They played the likes of No. 6 Central Missouri, No. 2 Drury, and No. 16 Southwestern Oklahoma State on three consecutive days and came away with a 1-2 record.
 
The Buffs went 15-6 last season and made it to the Lone Star Conference semifinals before bowing out to No. 10 Texas A&M Commerce in the semifinals.
 
West Texas A&M is led by a pair of Eastern New Mexico transfers who came over to the program with head coach Josh Prock.
 
Zamorye Roberts leads the Buffs in scoring at 22.7 points per game after the initial three games of the season. The 5-7 guard scored over 20 points in each of the three games with a 24 point output in the win over Southwestern Oklahoma State.
 
Alivia Lewis averages a double-double scoring 11.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Lewis had 19 points and 15 rebounds in the loss to No. 2 Drury.
 
THE COACH
Head coach Taylor Wagner enters his tenth season as the man in charge of the Mavericks. He has amassed a 208-54 overall record (20+ wins per season average) and an astonishing 157-39 (15+ wins per season average) mark inside the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference during his tenure.
 
He has guided the Mavericks to five NCAA Tournament and made a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight during his first season with the program. He has been named the RMAC Coach of the Year five times in that span.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The Mavericks will have just one matchup next week when they play Park University in Pueblo during the Al Kaly Shrine Classic. The Buccaneers are currently 1-1 and head to Orem and Pocatello this week for a pair of games with Division I foes Utah Valley and Idaho State.