GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Monica Brooks, Kylie Kravig and Olivia Reed combined for 52 points as the Colorado Mesa University women's basketball team hung on to claim a much-needed 64-62 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over the visiting University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions on Saturday night in front of a Blizzard at Brownson crowd of more than 1,000.
 
Brooks, who had a career-high 25 points on Friday night, finished Saturday's game with 18 as did Kravig, who set a new career-high, aided by a 9-for-10 effort at the free throw line.  Meanwhile, Reed finished with 16 points and the same number of rebounds to record her eighth double-double of her freshman season.
 
Saturday's victory snapped a slide three straight losses for the Mavericks, who pulled into a tie with UCCS and CSU Pueblo for the final two RMAC Tournament spots.  All three teams now have 7-9 marks in conference play as the ThunderWolves were downed by 20 (74-54) at Adams State to fall for the fourth straight time.  All three teams have six regular season games remaining.  The Mavs will host CSU Pueblo in two weeks.
 
CMU and UCCS are both 8-14 overall as well.
 
The Mavericks led by as many as 14 in the first half (29-15) and by 13 (47-34) with four minutes left in the third quarter.
 
After leading just 32-30 aft the half, the Mavs went on a 15-4 run over the first six minutes of the third quarter before the Mountain Lions answered with a 10-2 run over their own to cut the gap to just five at the end of the period.
 
They then scored eight of the first nine points of the fourth quarter to take a 52-50 lead with 6:10 left, setting the stage for a classic finish.
 
Kravig would then score the go-ahead bucket with 4:37 left to put the Mavs ahead 53-52.
 
They later led by six at 60-54 and 62-56 after Kravig made four straight free throws.
 
UCCS' Maison White then scored but could not convert the and-one free throw to close the gap to 62-58.
 
The Mavs then missed two free throws at the other end before Reed blocked her third shot of the night.  However, she was called for a technical foul for taunting which allowed the Mountain Lions to close to within to (62-60) on free throw makes by Rylie Ottmann.
 
Getting the ball, the Mountain Lions missed a 3-pointer as Kravig was fouled with 4.4 seconds left.  She made one of the free throws before Ottmann made a reverse layup with 0.5 seconds left.
 
However, Mountain Lion coach Lynn Plett was assessed a technical foul for attempting to call a timeout, which he did not have as Laura Gutierrez iced the Mavs' win with two free throws.
 
The Mavs finished with a 39-29 advantage in total rebounding as Reed had her second-best rebounding night of the season (18 vs. Northwest Missouri State).  Shooting percentages were nearly dead-even with the Mavs finishing with the slightest of 42.0 to 41.4 advantage.
Both teams were 28.6 percent from 3-point land although the Mavericks made six treys, the difference in the game.  UCCS was held to just four.
 
White had a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the way for the Mountain Lions, who are now just 2-24 against the Mavs in Brownson Arena.  The Mountain Lions' last road win in the series was in 2005.
 
The Mavs are now 41-12 in the series and have won seven of the last eight.
 
CMU will play their next two away from home, starting Friday (Feb. 10) at No. 15 Colorado School of Mines (19-3), which leads the RMAC standings at 15-3.