GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — What a difference one year makes.
A year ago, Colorado Mesa's women's basketball team didn't handle the frenzied style of play run by Texas Permian Basin.
Saturday, however, in the final game of the D2 Conference Challenge at Brownson Arena, the year-older, year-wiser Mavericks handled both the pace and the Falcons' 1-3-1 zone defense in a 70-54 victory to improve to 5-0 to start the season — one year after an 0-5 start.
"That was crazy," CMU coach Taylor Wagner said. "We knew it was going to be where you just could never relax."
With the Falcons double-teaming and denying Olivia Reed the ball in the low post, the Mavericks countered by snapping passes around and across the perimeter and knocking down 3-pointers. In fact, CMU took only five shots inside the 3-point line in the first half and only 19 of their 59 shots in the game were 2-pointers.
The Mavericks hit a dozen from beyond the arc, the most in a single game since making 13 against CSU Pueblo in 2020, and made another 12 from inside the 3-point line. Reed didn't have a field goal attempt in the first half, but had seven of her career-high 18 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. She finished with nine points, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
She was 3 for 3 from the field, including burying a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Her first field goal came at the 3:47 mark of the third quarter on an offensive rebound — she was fouled in the opening two minutes of the third quarter on the first shot she attempted.
Her teammates, though, picked her up offensively. Mason Rowland scored 19 points, again providing the spark off the bench, making three 3-pointers and she and Kylie Kravig triggered the offense against the ball pressure up top. Forward Claire Heitschmidt helped foil the 1-3-1 zone early by hitting two of her three 3-pointers, and her final 3 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter all but put the game out of reach, 50-35. She finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
"We worked on it a lot this week so we kind of knew what to do," Heitschmidt said of going against the zone. "I think the biggest thing was just finding gaps and finding seams, just moving the ball well and not dribbling, moving the ball as quick as we can."
Sophie Hadad also had a breakout night offensively, hitting a pair of 3s and scoring a career-high 12 points. The junior wing has been plagued by injuries throughout her career, sat out all of last season and came back to earn a spot in the starting lineup.
"I worked really hard and I just need to be confident in there," Hadad said. "It goes in waves sometimes, but I hope that it's on the up and up."
Once the Mavericks adjusted to the physical, pressure-packed defense the Falcons run, they handled the ball better, with only four second-half turnovers after 10 in the first half. Led by Reed, CMU had a slight edge on the boards, 37-32, shot 40.7% from the field, 30% from the 3-point line (12 of 40), and made all 10 free throws.
Defensively, they gave up only one 3-pointer, winning the game from the 3-point line.
"There's teams that play zone and do stuff like that and we want all our players to be able to play in a press, in zone, in man, be able to do it all," Wagner said. "But sometimes you've got to go with the girls who are there and I thought they did a great job stepping up and hitting big shots."
