WEEK IN REVIEW
The Mavericks had a real nice winter break as they picked up their first conference victory with a 68-64 win over Adams State on Saturday December 17 in Brownson Arena.
Colorado Mesa shot over 40 percent from the field in the game and made over 36 percent of their three-point attempts while limiting the Grizzlies to a tick over 23 percent from beyond the arc. The difference in the game came at the charity stripe where the Mavericks shot 16-for-23 (69.6) while Adams State was just 7-for-15 (46.7).
Senior Monica Brooks tied a career-high with 19 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and made 8-of-9 from the free throw line. She also pulled down eight rebounds and handed out four assists.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
True freshman Olivia Reed earned her first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor after her performance against Adams State. The Windsor native recorded her fourth double double of the season as she poured in 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while pulling down 15 rebounds.
Reed now has five games where she has reached double-digit rebounds with a season-high of 18 coming against Northwest Missouri State. She is also ranked 35th nationally in total rebounds with 104.
CONTINUE TO IMPROVE
The youthful Mavericks continue to improve in all facets of the game. Against Adams State, sophomore Tia Slade made the jump as she had a career-high in both rebounds and field goal attempts.
The Highlands Ranch native poured in 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and pulled down eight rebounds. She also handed out three assists.
As expected with the extended minutes, Slade has set career-highs in every statistical category this season including playing all 40 minutes against MSU Denver on December 3.
NEW PLAYER, NEW ENERGY
Colorado Mesa added a player to the roster for the second half of the season and was even able to sneak her onto the roster for the Adams State game on December 17 after receiving and fulfilling all her eligibility requirements earlier in the week.
Former Regis player and Mullen High grad Megan Pohs has been added and made her debut against the Grizzlies in the game prior to the break.
The 5-3 speedster played 21 minutes and finished with four points, a rebound and an assist with less than a week's worth of practices. She ran the point giving head coach Taylor Wagner more flexibility on both ends of the floor, allowing him to move Kylie Kravig to a wing at times and now doesnt have to have sharpshooter Laura Gutierez backup Kravig.
WEAKNESS TO A STRENGTH
Early in the season, Colorado Mesa had their struggles at the free throw line. For the season, they are shooting 66.7 percent from the line which is the 12th best mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
As the season has progressed, that number continues to improve. In conference only games, they are shooting 72.9 percent from the charity stripe which is the fifth best mark in the conference during that time span.
Monica Brooks is shooting 85 percent from the line during conference only games and Laura Gutierrez has been consistent at the line all season at 90.3 percent which is the top mark in the conference and is the 23rd best mark nationally.
BLOCK PARTY
Colorado Mesa has been known to have a good shot blocker roaming the paint ever since head coach Taylor Wagner became the head coach. From Kelsey Sigl to Erika Musante to Kelsey Siemons, the Mavericks have been able to block shots.
The Mavericks continue to lead the conference in blocked shots at 3.6 blocks per game and 4.2 blocks in conference-only games. The had three blocked shots against the Grizzlies in their last game and will look to stack up more on the road this weekend.
The Mavericks have a total of 39 blocked shots this season and are led by the 15 from freshman Olivia Reed. Monica Brooks and Kylie Kravig each have seven blocks with Jamisyn Heaton adding four.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Mavericks will return home from one of their longer road trips of the season and play their first games of the 2023 calendar year in Brownson Arena.
They will play host to Chadron State and Colorado Christian to open up 2023. Both teams have had their highs and lows this year. The Eagles are just 1-9 this season with their lone win a 29 point triumph over upstart New Mexico Highlands while the Cougars are 6-6 on the year with big wins over Texas-Tyler, UT Permian Basin and CSU Pueblo.
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Colorado Mesa was picked to finish fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as voted on by the coaches. The Mavericks are coming off a year where they made the the NCAA South Central Region Tournament for the sixth time during his tenure.
Colorado School of Mines was picked to win the conference garnering 183 points and eight first place votes. RMAC coaches seemed to be mixed on what they think. Five schools received at least one first place vote which included Mines, second place CSU Pueblo, third place Black Hills State, fourth place MSU Denver, and the Mavericks.
THE LONE SENIOR
With the large group of COVID players exiting a year ago, Colorado Mesa has just one senior on their roster this season. In fact, they have just one junior on the roster as well.
Redshirt senior Monica Brooks is the lone senior on the roster and one of three Mavericks that has starting experience on the team as she entered the season with 19 career starts and has a record of 13-6 in those starts when she started the season.
THE STAFF
Joining head coach Taylor Wagner on his staff is long time assistant Hannah Pollart. The Colorado Mesa grad has been the Mavericks assistant coach since May of 2016 after a short stop at Northeastern Junior College. She was responsible for on and off campus recruiting, conditioning, weight training, player development, and scouting reports.
With Colorado Mesa, she coaches the posts, assists with recruiting, develops scouting reports, and coordinates travel among other duties taht assist in the development of the program.
As a player, she starred at Colorado Mesa for one season and helped lead the Mavericks to the NCAA South Central Region Championship game. During her senior season, she averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
