The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team hosts Black Hills State and Chadron State for their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference home opener. The Mavericks will host the Yellow Jackets on Friday evening in Brownson Arena and the Eagles will be in town on Saturday with both tipoffs slated for 5:30pm.
 
POINTS SCORERS
Redshirt seniors Mariah Martin and Daniella Turner have shared a bulk of the scoring this year. In fact, the duo has scored the exact same number of points (108) through the season's first seven games. Both have recorded double digits in all seven games.
 
Martin recorded a season-high 23 points in the win over Montana Western while Turner reached 20 points in the weekend win over Colorado Christian.
 
STEADY AS SHE GOES
Redshirt senior Sophie Anderson doesn't typically find her way into the season leaders in any one category but is one of the team's most consistent players. Anderson has played in 104 games during her career and has started more than half of them.
 
This year she is having one of her best statistical seasons yet. She is shooting over 54 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the free-throw line, both career bests.
 
STINGY
The Maverick defense has been well talked about over the years with this year's squad exhibiting those same strong defensive tactics. Colorado Mesa is limiting teams to just 47.1 points per game and just a 32.5 percent shooting percentage.
 
Another part of that defense has been the ability to cause turnovers. The Maverick opponents are averaging 16.9 turnovers per game. Every opponent has committed at least 10 turnovers in each game with Park and SAGU committing a season-high 26.
 
SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
Black Hills State comes into the weekend on a high note after wins over Western Colorado and Fort Lewis on the RMAC opening weekend. The Yellow Jackets sit at 4-4 on the season after splitting the first two weekends of the season then were swept on their trip to the Hawaiian Islands.
 
Black Hills State has a very balanced attack but Danica Kocer leads the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. She had a season-high 18 points in the season opener against Minot State and has reached double figures in four of the eight games they have played this year.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Chadron State enters the weekend with a 3-4 record on the season and a perfect 2-0 mark in the conference. The two wins last weekend came in the RMAC openers against Fort Lewis and a nice win over Western Colorado. The Eagles are on a upward trend and will be looking to make a statement this weekend.
 
Freshman Ashayla Powers leads the in Eagles in both scoring and rebounding as she averages 14.1 points and 6.6 rebounds a night. She recorded a season-high 24 points in the win over Fort Lewis and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds in the season opener against Texas A&M Kingsville.
 
THE COACH
Head coach Taylor Wagner enters his tenth season as the man in charge of the Mavericks. He has amassed a 212-55 overall record (20+ wins per season average) and an astonishing 158-40 (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 continue their home swing into the final games before the Christmas break. They will play host to Adams State and one of the best teams in the conference in the CSU Pueblo ThunderWolves.