GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The weather outside is far from blizzard conditions, but inside, it's time for the annual Blizzard in Brownson against one of Colorado Mesa's fiercest rivals.
The Mavericks will play in front of what's expected to be a large, raucous crowd Friday night against Fort Lewis College, with students back on campus for the spring semester. Fans are encouraged to wear white, with 2,000 rally towels handed out at the door. Coca Cola will also have giveaways during the doubleheader. The women's game tips off at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game between the top-10 rivals at 7:30.
On the court, the Mavericks will put their undefeated home record on the line against the Skyhawks, who have progressed every year under coach Taylor Harris and have won their past two after dropping three in a row.
Colorado Mesa is also riding a two-game winning streak and has won eight of its past 10 games. The Mavericks, 14-4 (8-3 RMAC) have already surpassed last season's win total, when they finished 13-16 (12-10 RMAC).
Sophomore forward Olivia Reed, the fifth-leading scorer in the conference, leads CMU at 16.9 points per game and 10.8 rebounds, which ranks second in the RMAC. Mason Rowland, a candidate for RMAC freshman of the year, scores 14.9 points a game despite coming off the bench. She's also an outstanding rebounder, grabbing 4.9 per game, which allows her to trigger the Mavs' transition offense.
Forward Josee Steadman, who also comes off the bench, averages 8.3 points a game and has made a team-leading 35 shots from beyond the arc.
After a slow start, senior guard Laura Gutierrez has reached double figures in three of the past five games, with point guard Kylie Kravig coming off one of her best games of the season, scoring 15 points and recording seven assists in the win against South Dakota Mines.
That game capped off an undefeated weekend, with the Mavs holding off Black Hills State 53-51 on Friday and then pulling away from the Hardrockers late in a 71-58 win that moved CMU to 8-0 at Brownson Arena.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Having only one game this week is a welcome schedule change, because it's a quick turnaround for next week.
The Mavericks have their shortest road trip of the season, playing at Western Colorado in Gunnison at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, then return home to host Westminster University at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Brownson Arena.
DROPPING DIMES
Junior point guard Kylie Kravig is four assists away from becoming only the eighth player in program history with 300 or more. Kravig has 296 assists, eighth all-time, and leads the RMAC with 113 this season, an average of 6.3 per game. She's also No. 1 in the RMAC with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jill (Teeters) Derrieux is the career record-holder with 370. As a team, CMU averages 17.2 assists per game.
THE STANDINGS
Colorado Mesa has moved into a tie for third place in the RMAC with Adams State. Colorado School of Mines leads the conference at 11-1, followed by Regis (9-2), which upended the Orediggers last week. CU-Colorado Springs (8-4) and Fort Lewis (7-4) are behind the Mavericks and Grizzlies in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
IN THE POLLS
Colorado Mesa is eighth in the D2CSC (College Sports Communicators) South Central Regional poll. Regional bids are determined by the NCAA South Central Regional rankings, with the RMAC Tournament champion receiving an automatic bid.
SERIES HISTORY
The Mavericks are 50-21 all-time against Fort Lewis and have won 10 in a row against their Western Slope rivals. CMU is 29-8 at Brownson Arena and is 38-19 in conference matchups. Last season, Mesa won the lone meeting between the teams 61-48 in Durango.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
Fort Lewis' 10 wins so far this season are the most under third-year Taylor Harris and the most since the 2019-20 season, when the Skyhawks went 15-12.
Lanae Billy, a 5-7 sophomore guard, is Fort Lewis' primary scoring threat, scoring 16.2 points a game and has made 46 of 126 attempts from the 3-point line (36.5 percent), which ranks sixth in the RMAC. Kelsey Sorenson, a 6-foot senior forward, adds 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds a game.
Defense has become the Skyhawks' identity, standing fourth in defense, allowing 61.8 points a game and forcing 388 turnovers this season. Teams are shooting 37.8 percent from the field and only 27.3 percent from the 3-point line.
Offensively, seven players average 6 or more points per game and Fort Lewis is shooting nearly 37 percent from the field.
After starting the season 0-3, the Skyhawks have won 10 of 14 games and bounced back last weekend after dropping three straight conference games to defeat Chadron State and Colorado Christian in Durango.
THE COACHES
Taylor Wagner is 255-79 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.
Taylor Harris is in his third season as the Fort Lewis head coach. Formerly the head coach at Miles Community College (Mont.), Harris took his junior college team to the 2020-21 regional championship and a spot in the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA Division I national tournament. He was previously an assistant for the Regis women's team and the MSU Denver men's team. Harris has a 21-51 record at FLC.
DYK?
Freshman Mason Rowland will be facing her hometown college for the first time in her career on Friday. The Mavericks' guard grew up in Durango, earning Southwestern League player of the year honors in volleyball, basketball and soccer for the Demons. She was twice the SWL basketball player of the year, a four-time all-conference player and earned four all-state honors. She scored more than 1,000 points in high school and received the prestigious Fred Steinmark Award as the top female scholar-athlete in the state.
