SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Colorado Mesa got back to basics on the second weekend of the women's basketball season, ramping up the defense and controlling the boards to sweep through the Westminster Invite.
The Mavericks (3-1) capped the weekend with a decisive 68-42 victory over St. Edward's University out of the Lone Star Conference.
With three players scoring in double figures — which all three had achieved by the end of the third quarter — the Mavericks allowed the Hilltoppers to shoot only 36.7% from the field and make only one 3-pointer in each quarter.
St. Edward's (3-4) didn't get many second chances, with only one offensive rebound the entire game and 19 total rebounds. Conversely, Olivia Reed Thyne had 17 of CMU's 40 rebounds. The Mavericks had 12 offensive boards, leading to 14 points.
Reed Thyne led the Mavericks with 21 points and the 17 boards, her 23rd career double-double, with Riley Hayes hitting three of six from the 3-point line and scoring 13 points and Kylie Kravig adding 12 more.
Hayes, a senior transfer out of Arkansas-Fort Smith, made her first start of the season in place of Mason Rowland, who was injured Friday and did not play. Claire Heitschmidt scored seven points and Mykaela Moore added eight off the bench.
For the second straight game, the Mavericks made their move in the third quarter, going on a 17-2 run to push their 32-30 lead to 49-32. The Mavs outscored St. Edward's 19-7 in the third quarter and 36-14 in the second half.
Reed Thyne had seven points in that scoring spree, Kravig had six and Heitschmidt and Sophie Hadad added layups. Reed Thyne ended that decisive run when she muscled up a backside layup after getting a baseline wraparound pass from Hayes.
Kravig followed her 10-assist game against Fort Lewis with six against the Hilltoppers — she's averaging 7.5 assists to 2.25 turnovers through the first four games.
The Mavs were up 16 entering the final quarter and pushed it to 22 when Reed Thyne grabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled away from traffic and found Hayes open at the top of the key for a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to play.
Not only did the Mavericks control the boards and the paint, outscoring St. Edward's 32-16 in the lane, they outscored the Hilltoppers 17-2 at the free throw line.
Home fans will get their first look at the Mavericks at 6 p.m. on Wednesday when they play CSU Pueblo in a nonconference game at Brownson Arena. Tickets are on sale at tickets.coloradomesa.edu.
