CANYON, Texas – The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team took on the No. 1 seed and host West Texas A&M Buffs on Friday (Mar. 11) evening at the First United Bank Center in the opening round of the NCAA South Central Region Tournament. The Mavericks had already beaten the Buffs this season but wound up falling in the game that meant more in a 70-64 loss.
 
West Texas A&M raced out to a 21-14 after the first quarter and never looked back. The Buffs limited Colorado Mesa to just 31.7 percent shooting from the field and just four made field goals in the third quarter.
 
The Mavericks trailed by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter with 4:34 left in the game following a Karley Motschenbacher made three-pointer for the Buffs that made it 65-44. Following that, the Mavericks went on a 20-4 run to cut the lead to five at 69-64 but only had nine seconds remaining in the game.
 
RMAC Player of the Year and All-Region selection Daniella Turner scored a game-high 25 points in her final game as a Mav. She scored 15 of those 25 points in the first half and did her best to keep the Mavericks in the game.
 
The Boca Raton, Fla. native was 9-for-22 from the field and made four three-point baskets. She added five rebounds, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Fellow senior Kelsey Siemons nearly had a double double in her final game. She finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. By scoring her first point late in the game, she eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone in her career and is the 20^th player in program history to reach that mark.
 
Monica Brooks finished with 12 points to round out the Mavericks in double digits.
 
The Buffs move on to face Lone Star Conference foe Texas Women's tomorrow evening in the South Central Region semifinal. All four Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools fell in the opening round of the tournament.
 
The Mavericks season ends, and they finish with a 23-7 overall mark.