The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will open the season this weekend at the D2 Conference Challenge event in Rapid City, S.D. at the King Center on the campus of South Dakota Mines. They will take on No. 6 ranked West Texas A&M on Friday evening before a matchup with Texas Permian Basin on Saturday evening.
 
THE LONE MAVERICK
Redshirt senior Monica Brooks is the lone senior on this season's roster and the lone returning starter on this year's team. Brooks averaged 7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while playing in all 30 games and making 19 starts during her junior season.
 
Brooks' best game came on February 26 against Fort Lewis where she had 19 points and six rebounds in the win over the Skyhawks.
 
NEW ROLES
Kylie Kravig and Tia Slade are likely to step into new roles this year after coming off the bench a season ago. Both sophomores will likely enter the starting lineup this season with Kravig playing in 29 games as a freshman and Slade just 13 games in her first collegiate season.
 
Kravig will likely run the point and will be asked to distribute and knock down a three from time to time. She had 41 total assists and had a season-high six assists against MSU Denver in the RMAC Tournament semifinals.
 
Slade also had her best game of her freshman season against MSU Denver in RMAC Tournament semifinals where she had a season-high 13 points.
 
FRESH FACES
The Mavericks have nine freshmen on the roster this year so it is no surprise that two of them will likely be in the starting lineup. The two that are most likely to make their debut in the starting lineup are Jamisyn Heaton and Olivia Reed.
 
Heaton will be opposite Slade at either two or three position on the wing. The Lehi, Utah native is a solid offensive player as she can take her defender off the dribble or pull up and shoot.
 
Reed is a four-time All-State selection out of Windsor High School will be the likely starter at either the four or five opposite of senior Monica Brooks. The former Northern League Player of the Year has great touch around the basket and will be a force in the rebounding game.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M enters the weekend 2-0 after defeating a pair of non-conference opponents as a part of the D2CCA Women's Tip-off Classic in Kansas City, Mo. They earned a 71-58 win over No. 3 Fort Hays State and a 59-53 win over Nebraska-Kearney who was receiving votes in the preseason WBCA National Poll.
 
The Buffs, an NCAA Elite Eight participant in 2022, are coached by Josh Prock in his second year after coming over from nearby Eastern New Mexico University. Prock was 26-11 a season ago and is now 105-52 in his career.
 
Kayley Motschenbacher is a National Player of the Year candidate as she is already averaging 19 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting over 66 percent from beyond the arc and scored 21 points against UNK last weekend.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Texas Permian Basin was picked to finish No. 13 in the preseason Lone Star Conference poll as voted on by coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives in the region. The Falcons finished last season with an 8-20 mark overall and 4-12 inside the conference.
 
UTPB is coached by Rae Boothe in her sixth season with the program. She is 36-94 in her five full seasons with the Falcons and 195-163 in her career after spending several seasons at Friends University prior to her time in Odessa.
 
Holly Hemmeline is a player to watch for the Falcons. She finished the season averaging 7.8 points and 1.4 rebounds during her sophomore season. She scored a season-high 17 points against Texas A&M-Kingsville on February 12.
 
AGAINST THE FIELD
Colorado Mesa enters the weekend 3-6 against the two teams they matchup with this weekend. That record may be a little misleading as they are 2-0 against Texas Permian Basin with a win coming last season 62-52 in Canyon, Texas as a part of this D2 Conference Challenge. The other matchup came during the 2013 NCAA South Central Region Tournament in Grand Junction where the Mavericks won 78-68.
 
West Texas A&M owns a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series with Colorado Mesa. The Mavericks lone win in the series came in the season opener last season when they won 46-43 at the First United Bank Center in Canyon.
 
THE COACH
Head coach Taylor Wagner begins his 11^th season at the helm of the Colorado Mesa Mavericks and has been nothing but outstanding during his tenure. Wagner is 231-61 as head coach with seven 20-win seasons and two 30-win seasons in his time.
 
Wagner has led the Mavericks to an Elite Eight appearance in 2013, six NCAA Tournament appearances and four RMAC regular season and tournament titles in his time.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Mavericks will head east for a pair of non-conference matchups. They will head to Hays, Kan. for a matchup with MIAA foe Northwest Missouri State and No. 3 ranked Fort Hays State. The Tigers will be the second ran MIAA foe Northwest Missouri State. ked opponent for the Mavericks in as many weekends.