GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — As final exams wrap up, the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team is also preparing to face a team on a six-game winning streak, with a player coming off a career night, on the road in a notoriously tough place to play.
And then there's the North Pole Factor.
"It's that game right before Christmas break and those are always scary, because everybody's thinking of Santa Claus sometimes," CMU head coach Taylor Wagner said after the Mavericks completed a home sweep of CU-Colorado Springs and Regis last weekend.
The Mavericks (9-2, 3-1 RMAC) look to put a bow on the 2023 portion of the season Friday afternoon (Dec. 15) against Adams State University (9-3, 4-0) in Alamosa. Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m. at Plachy Hall, and after the game, the Mavs will break for the holidays, returning shortly after Christmas to prepare for the 2024 stretch, which begins Jan. 5-6 at Brownson Arena against CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
The Mavericks shook off their worst shooting night of the season and had their best offensive game so far — and won both games at Brownson Arena. CMU and CU-Colorado Springs both struggled offensively in the Mavericks' 58-53 victory, during which CMU shot only 30.2% from the field (16 of 53). The next night, CMU took two more shots, but made twice as many as Friday (32 of 55, 58.2%) in its 87-82 win over defending RMAC champion Regis.
Josee Steadman was key in both games, scoring 16 points against the Mountain Lions and a career-high 19 against the Rangers. Sophie Hadad had 16 points against Regis, one off her career high, and Mason Rowland bounced back from an off scoring night to chip in 16 points. Mesa built a 26-point lead in the third quarter, but Regis put up 37 points in the fourth to close the gap.
COMMON OPPONENTS
Both CMU and Adams State defeated West Texas A&M earlier this season. The Mavericks beat the Buffs 70-51 at Brownson Arena the week after the Grizzlies won 77-64 in their season opener in Lubbock, Texas.
THE STANDINGS
Adams State is one game ahead of the Mavericks in the early RMAC race at 4-0, tied with Colorado School of Mines for first place. There's a four-way tie for third place among CMU, Colorado Christian, Fort Lewis and UCCS at 3-1.
STAT HIGHLIGHTS
Adams State is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 73.9 points a game. Colorado Mesa is fourth at 71.5 points a night.
The Mavs' ability to handle Adams State's pressure and their defense will be key in this one. Mesa is fourth in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 60.6 points a game. Adams State is 13th, giving up 66.9 points a game. Mesa has a 10.9-point scoring margin, the best in the RMAC. Adams has a 7-point scoring margin.
Harmanie Dominguez, coming off her record-setting game against New Mexico Highlands, is second in the RMAC in scoring at 18 points per game. Olivia Reed is sixth at 16.7 and Mason Rowland eighth at 14.9. Reed continues to lead the conference and is No. 3 in the nation in rebounding at 11.6 per game and Kylie Kravig is No. 1 in assists in the RMAC with 72, an average of 6.5 per game. She's second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.0 (72 assists, 36 turnovers).
Kravig is logging 36 minutes a game, which leads the conference, with Reed 10th at 32.3 minutes. Sophie Hadad, however, has not left the court other than timeouts in three of the past five games, including playing all 50 minutes in the double-overtime loss to Colorado School of Mines. She played all but three minutes the next day against MSU Denver and logged 36 minutes against CU-Colorado Springs.
IN THE POLLS
Despite going 2-0 last weekend, the Mavericks dropped out of the D2CSC (Conference Sports Communicators) national rankings this week after being ranked No. 25. They also dropped two spots to No. 6 in the unofficial D2CSC South Central Regional rankings.
The WBCA coaches poll has CMU on the "Receiving Votes" list with 19.
RMAC COACHES POLL
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
Colorado Mesa is 57-11 against the Grizzlies and has won the past 22 meetings, dating to 2011. The Mavericks eked out a 68-64 thriller last December in Grand Junction. They're 25-8 all-time in Alamosa's Plachy Hall.
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES
Adams State has made an impressive turnaround under coach Mario Caetano. The Grizzlies were 4-10 in the COVID conference-only 2020-21 season, but went 12-15 (10-12 RMAC) the next season with Caetano installed as the interim coach. Last season, after Caetano had the interim tag removed, was one of the Grizzlies' best in recent years at 21-9 (16-6 RMAC), advancing to the conference tournament semifinals.
After a 3-3 start this season, Adams State has rattled off six straight wins, including two one-point victories at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Last week, Adams State held off CSU Pueblo 69-62, then clobbered New Mexico Highlands 91-60 behind a record-breaking night by Harmanie Dominguez. The sophomore hit 10 of 16 shots from the 3-point line, a school record and one off the RMAC mark, and her 37 points broke the ASU single-game record of 36. She scored 24 points in the second half.
Her record night boosted her scoring average to 18 points a night, with Riahana Davis scoring 12.3 and Angeline Nageak 10.2. Dominguez is shooting 47% from the 3-point line so far this season, making 47 of 100 attempts.
As a team, Adams State is shooting 43.5% from the field, 39.4% from 3 and 78.9% from the free-throw line. The Grizzlies like to pressure the ball and have forced 280 turnovers this season, with 161 steals. Kayla Harris has blocked 14 shots.
DYK?
Colorado Mesa's bench has scored more than twice the points of its opponents' reserves this season, 281-138, an average margin of 13 points per game. Alaska Fairbanks' reserves were shut out, and Mesa's backups have been outscored only twice, 7-5 by Fort Hays State and 23-22 by UCCS. Mason Rowland and Josee Steadman have been an outstanding 1-2 punch off the bench, scoring 265 total points (Rowland 164, Steadman 101).
THE COACHES
Taylor Wagner is 253-79 as Colorado Mesa's head coach, with seven 20-win seasons and two with 30 wins. Wagner led the Mavericks to the Division II Elite Eight in 2013, has seven NCAA Tournament appearances and nine total RMAC championships.
Mario Caetano took over the Grizzlies as the interim coach in 2021-22 and has quickly transformed them into conference contenders. Last season's RMAC Coach of the Year, Caetano led Adams to a 21-9 record last season, tied for the third-most in program history and tied for second-most in the Division II era, which began in 1992. He's 42-27 entering Friday's game.
