GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Shannon Murphy led Colorado Mesa to a pair of conference wins with two signature performances in net and was rewarded with her first RMAC Women's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week award of her career.

Murphy becomes the third individual CMU player to win the defensive award, joining teammates Peyton Ivey (March 13) and Kelsey Viger (March 20). It's the first time the sophomore from Wilmington, Massachusetts has been honored by the league office even though Murphy started her 27^th and 28^th career games for the Mavericks this past weekend.

Murphy made a total of 16 saves against Fort Lewis and CSU Pueblo in last week's action. She made 10 saves against eight goals conceded in CMU's 10-8 win over Fort Lewis on Friday, recording double-digit saves and an over .500 save percentage for the fourth time this season.

Murphy was even better against CSU Pueblo, allowing just one goal, a career-low for games where Murphy played in all four quarters. She made six saves for an .857 save percentage, likewise a career best for a complete game. The only better save percentages on Murphy's statsheet are .889 in 30 minutes against Westminster on April 6, 2022 (8 saves and 1 GA) and 1.000 in a 27-minute appearance against CSU Pueblo two days later when Murphy only faced five shots and needed to make just three saves.

The Maverick goalie currently ranks third in the RMAC with a 10.14 goals-against average and 91 total saves. Her tally of 7.6 saves per game is good for fourth in the conference, and her overall save percentage of .429 is fifth.

Colorado Mesa wraps up the home portion of their regular season schedule by hosting UCCS next Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 3 Regis next Sunday at 1 p.m. The Mavericks then face Westminster on the road April 29 before learning their seed for the RMAC Tournament from May 5-7.