DENVER — An airball that appeared to send Thursday night's game into overtime instead was whistled dead, and Regis came away with a 63-61 victory over Colorado Mesa in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball game at Regis Fieldhouse.
Fiona Snashall's shot from the top of the key in a 61-61 game was contested by Mykaela Moore, who appeared to be an arm's length away. She was called for a foul as the ball skimmed the bottom of the net and went out of bounds. After the officials checked the video to see how much time was on the clock, Snashall made both free throws and CMU called time to advance the ball to the frontcourt with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Macy Larsen's shot just inside the 3-point line at the horn hit off the rim, dropping the Mavericks to 5-3, 1-2 in conference play.
In a game that had four ties and 13 lead changes, the Mavericks used a 20-12 third quarter to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 52-45 lead entering the final 10 minutes.
Kylie Kravig scored half of CMU's points in the third quarter and finished the game with 16. For the first time this season, the RMAC's assists leader was not credited with an assist.
Kravig hit a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, with Riley Hayes getting CMU started by hitting a 3-pointer on the first possession. Hayes buried another with 4:35 to play in the quarter to break a 42-42 tie after a Kravig 3 tied it.
Another 3 by the senior point guard, followed by a transition layup after Brooklyn Palmer stole a pass to the post gave the Mavs a 50-43 lead, and after Snashall went inside for a layup, Kravig drove for a layup. She drew a foul with 1:39 to play, but missed the bonus, leaving CMU with a seven-point advantage.
Olivia Reed Thyne, who picked up her fourth foul with 3:36 remaining in the third quarter and headed to the bench, checked back in with 4:58 left in the game and the Mavs up three.
She immediately went inside for a layup and drew the foul, converting the three-point play to give CMU a 58-52 lead with 4:39 to play.
She fouled out with 1:58 remaining, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds, her 26th career double-double.
A pair of three-point plays, one by Snashall and another by Erin Fry, tied the game at 61-61 with 35 seconds to play, setting up the last-ditch win by Regis (5-4, 3-0).
Fry ended up with 19 points and four assists, Snashall had 15 points and 10 rebounds, with Athena Saragoza adding 12 and Addison Branscum 13.
Hayes had 11 point for CMU, which shot 34.4% from the field to Regis' 40.4%, Larsen added nine and Palmer six, with seven rebounds.
The biggest discrepancy was at the free throw line down the stretch, with the Rangers going 10 of 16 from the line in the fourth quarter — CMU was 2 of 3.
The Mavericks will look to salvage a road split when they play at Colorado School of Mines at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Golden. That game will wrap up conference play in 2024, with two nonconference games next week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before the holiday break.
