GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team took to the floor for the first time in 2022 after a 26-day layoff and it showed. The Mavericks fell 76-62 to the MSU Denver Roadrunners on Friday evening in a key Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchup.
 
Colorado Mesa's lone lead of the game came in the first quarter after a Kelsey Siemons three-pointer the put the Mavericks ahead 9-8 after that it was all MSU Denver. Siemons led all scorers with 17 points.
 
The Roadrunners led 15-10 after the first then outscored the Mavericks 26-14 in the second quarter to jump out to a 41-24 lead at the break. They led by as many as 22-points in the game which came in the third quarter with 6:07 to play in the frame.
 
Colorado continually improved in the second half, but the lead was too much to overcome. They outscored MSU Denver 22-16 in the fourth quarter.
 
Daniella Turner finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebound as the only other Maverick in double figures. One of the other bright spots on the night was Lauryn Deede's play off the bench as she finished with six points and five rebounds in just a little under 12 minutes of action.
 
MSU Denver was led by the 13 points of Allie Navarette.
 
The 14-point loss was the worst home loss suffered by the Mavericks during head coach Taylor Wagner's tenure. The previous was a 13-point loss to Regis in Brownson Arena back on February 15, 2020.
 
Colorado Mesa fell to 10-2 on the year and 5-2 in the conference with both losses coming to MSU Denver. The Roadrunners improved to 8-4 overall and 4-3 in the RMAC.
 
The Mavericks will look to have a quick turnaround after the loss as they host Colorado Christian tomorrow night at 5:30pm in Brownson Arena. The Cougars enter the weekend after having an off night on Friday evening due to a postponement at Westminster.