GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team led for nearly three quarters of the game but eventually fell to the MSU Denver Roadrunners 54-52on Saturday (Dec. 3) evening in Brownson Arena to close out the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opening weekend.
 
The Mavericks led 52-51 with 9.7 seconds left but MSU Denver's Brooklynn Jones delivered a dagger as she drilled a three to give the Roadrunners the final lead of the game at 54-52. They had a chance late but a turnover thwarted any last chance hopes.
 
Turnovers were once again the story as Colorado Mesa had 19 turnovers while the Roadrunners had just six turnovers. MSU Denver finished with a 19-3 advantage on points off turnovers.
 
Colorado Mesa led by as many as nine in the game which came with 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter after Tia Slade scored on a layup to make it 49-40. They led for a total of 29:22 in the game.
 
MSU Denver made just 59 percent of their free-throw attempts but that still gave them seven more makes than Colorado Mesa.
 
Laura Gutierrez led the Mavericks in scoring on the weekend as she finished with a game-high 16 points. Olivia Reed and Jamisyn Heaton each had double digit point as they chipped in 10 and 11 points respectively.
 
Onica Brooks finished with a game-high 11 rebounds in the evening.
 
The Mavericks will venture back out on the road next week as they travel to Denver and Colorado Springs for contests against Regis and UCCS.