GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — As basketball teams around the country played in Thanksgiving tournaments, the Colorado Mesa women's team came off a rare holiday break and went back to work.
With the traditional Thanksgiving Tipoff tournament at Brownson Arena on hiatus, the Mavericks were given the holiday off, returning to Grand Junction the day after Thanksgiving for practice.
With nearly a full week to prepare for Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, the 6-1 Mavericks, who broke into one national top 25 poll this week, are ramping up the emphasis on offensive execution and a more sustained effort on defense.
They open against another team in the national polls, Colorado School of Mines, at 5:30 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 1) at Lockridge Arena in Golden, then have a late-afternoon tilt on Saturday (Dec. 2) at 3:30 p.m. against MSU Denver at the Auraria Event Center in downtown Denver.
LAST TIME OUT
Colorado Mesa rebounded from its first loss of the season with an impressive 77-61 nonconference win over CCU, which was played at MSU Denver. Five Mavericks scored in double figures, led by freshman Mason Rowland's 21-point effort off the bench. CMU scored 24 points in the opening quarter and 26 in the third, building a 16-point lead.
Sophie Hadad scored 17 points, her third straight game reaching a career high, making five of seven 3-point attempts.
COMMON OPPONENTS
The Mavericks' lone loss is a 65-62 setback against Fort Hays State (4-0), which is ranked No. 22 in this week's WBCA poll. The Tigers were receiving votes when they faced CMU on Nov. 19 at the CCU Events Center in Lakewood.
MSU Denver hosted the Tigers the next day, losing 64-45.
Mesa and Mines also have one common nonconference opponent, both defeating West Texas A&M. The Mavericks beat the Buffs 70-51 at Brownson Area in the D2 Conference Challenge, with Mines pulling out an 81-78 thriller in Canyon, Texas the following weekend. The Buffs are 2-3 against RMAC opponents this season.
THE STANDINGS
At 6-1, Colorado Mesa leads the RMAC standings, just ahead of Mines and Regis, both at 5-1. Black Hills State is 3-1.
TOPPING THE CHARTS
Three of the top 10 scorers in the conference will share the floor Friday night in Golden. The Orediggers' Ashley Steffeck is No. 2 in scoring in the RMAC at 18.5 points per game. Mesa's Olivia Reed is fifth at 17.4 and Mason Rowland eighth at 16.1.
Reed leads the conference in rebounding at 12.4 per game, is third in field goal percentage (58.0) and third in blocked shots with 1.9 per game, but is second in total blocks with 13.
Steffeck is second in 3-point percentage, making 46.2% from long range, an average of 3 per game, and is ninth overall at 41%. At the line, Steffeck has made 29 of 31 (93.5%), which leads the league, with Rowland sixth at 83.7% (36 of 43).
CMU point guard Kylie Kravig is third in the RMAC in assists with 5.3 per game and is fourth in assist/turnover ratio at 1.7.
As a team, the Mavericks are No. 2 in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 57.1 points per game and are fifth in scoring at 70.6 points, putting them No. 1 in scoring margin (13.4). CMU is also the best rebounding team in the league with a 7.6 rebound margin, averaging 39 boards a contest, and is No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.3.
IN THE POLLS
Colorado Mesa entered one national poll this week and is receiving votes in another. The Mavericks are No. 23 in the D2CSC (Conference Sports Communicators) media poll with 66 points after receiving votes last week. Colorado School of Mines is No. 16 in the D2CSC rankings, with Regis dropping out of the top 25, but as the first team in the "receiving votes" list.
Both Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines are receiving votes in this week's WBCA national poll. The Mavericks got 29 votes, two spots out of the top 25, with the Orediggers two more spots back with 26 votes. Regis is No. 24 in the coaches poll.
In the D2CSC regional rankings, Mines is No. 2 and Mesa No. 3 in the South Central Region behind Texas Woman's University. Regis is No. 4.
RMAC COACHES SAY...
Colorado Mesa was picked to place sixth in the conference in preseason voting by the RMAC head coaches. Regis was tabbed No. 1, followed by Colorado School of Mines, CSU Pueblo, Adams State and Black Hills State.
SERIES HISTORY
Since 1988, Colorado Mesa is 47-14 against Colorado School of Mines, including winning the first 24 meetings. The teams met three times last year, splitting the regular-season series, each winning on the other team's floor, with Mesa upsetting the then-No. 12 Orediggers 59-52. Mines claimed a 66-60 win in the first round of the RMAC Tournament in Golden in late February to end CMU's season. In all, Mesa is 19-9 in Golden and has a 33-12 advantage in conference games.
MSU Denver leads the series against the Mavs 30-22, and the teams split their two meetings last season, again, winning on one another's court. The Mavericks took a 65-60 win in February of 2023 in Denver to improve to 6-18 at the Auraria Event Center. Metro is 20-15 in conference games against the Mavericks.
ABOUT THE OREDIGGERS
Mines is again off to a good start, with the Orediggers' only loss coming to Texas Woman's University, which was ranked No. 24 at the time and is now ranked 14th. The Orediggers are coming off an impressive 75-71 win over then-No. 10 Montana State Billings, which has dropped to No. 17 in the WBCA national rankings, released Tuesday.
Ashley Steffeck, a 5-foot-9 redshirt senior guard, makes the 'Diggers go. The only double-figure scorer on the roster, Steffeck averages 18.5 points a game, is shooting 41% from the field, 46% from the 3-point line and 93.5% from the free-throw line. She's a complete player, leading Mines in rebounding (6.7), assists (23), steals (15) and blocked shots (6).
Steffeck, this week's RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, had 25 points in the win over Montana State Billings, but it's only one of three games that she's scored 20 or more points, including a 31-point night against St. Edward's. She's rarely off the floor, playing 34.5 minutes a night for the highest-scoring team in the RMAC (74.7 points per game).
She has plenty of support around her, with Jenna Siebert scoring 9.2 points, Emma Sixta 8.5 and Loralee Stock 8.2. Four more Orediggers score more than five points a night for the top-scoring team in the conference.
ABOUT THE ROADRUNNERS
A rugged nonconference schedule left MSU Denver at 1-4 heading into RMAC play. The Roadrunners faced three nationally ranked teams, plus one that was receiving votes in the polls and is now ranked, losing all four of those games.
They halted the losing streak at four with a 64-62 win over Seattle Pacific, with four players reaching double figures. Mikylah Espinosa, a 5-8 sophomore guard who had 17 points in the win, is MSU Denver's leading scorer at 11.2 points per game. Brianna Sealy is at 10.8 and Ashlyn Yow 10.7.
Sealy, a 5-11 sophomore forward, is tough around the basket, shooting nearly 60% from the field and averaging 7.4 rebounds a game, and is a threat to get opposing post players into foul trouble.
Metro is relatively young, with no seniors on the roster.
THE COACHES
Head coach Taylor Wagner picked up his 250th victory at CMU when the Mavericks defeated Colorado Christian just before the Thanksgiving break. Wagner, now in his 12th season, is 250-78 as CMU's head coach with seven 20-win seasons and two 30-win seasons. He needs 50 more wins to become the program's all-time leader in coaching wins (Steve Kirkham, 299, 1988-2004).
Wagner led the Mavericks to an Elite Eight appearance in 2013, with six NCAA Tournament appearances and four RMAC regular-season and tournament titles.
Mines is coached by former Maverick guard Brittany (Rowley) Simpson, who starred for the Mavs from 2002-06. Simpson, in her 12th year at Mines, won her 200th game earlier this season and is the winningest coach in program history.
MSU Denver is led by Tanya Haave, in her 14th season in Denver. The former All-American under the legendary Pat Summit at Tennessee after graduating from Evergreen High School, Haave is 238-142 with the Roadrunners.
