GOLDEN, Colo. — The sting of Thursday's last-second loss to Regis was emphatically erased Saturday afternoon when the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team routed Colorado School of Mines 67-48 at Lockridge Arena.
Behind a dominant performance from junior forward Olivia Reed Thyne, the Mavericks led from the start and held the Orediggers under 30% shooting in their own building.
Reed Thyne recorded her 27th career double-double, Kylie Kravig had more assists than the Orediggers' entire team, and four players reached double figures in the runaway victory.
Reed Thyne owned the paint, scoring 19 points and grabbing 16 rebounds, and when she wasn't scoring, she was finding open teammates for four assists. She connected on three of four second-chance attempts and only took a couple of shots away from the low block, hitting one jumper from the top of the key and another from the baseline.
One of her four assists was a high-low post pass to Brooklyn Palmer for a layup in the second half, and another came when Kravig cut off a screen for a backside lob, layup and foul. Her three-point play gave the Mavericks an 18-point lead with 5:21 remaining in the game, 61-43.
Colorado Mesa (6-3, 2-2 RMAC) had big scoring runs in each quarter, including a decisive 13-point onslaught in the third to put the game out of reach.
It was 40-30 with 7:57 to play in the third quarter when CMU took complete control. Reed Thyne went inside for a layup, followed by a step-back 3 from Kravig, who finished with 16 points and eight assists. Reed Thyne grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and drew a foul, adding the bonus, then went inside off a Mines turnover for another layup. Palmer, who scored seven points, finished off the scoring spree with a 3-pointer for a 53-30 lead with 4:49 to play in the third.
Riley Hayes finished with 14 points and a pair of steals, playing all but the final minute and a half, with Macy Larsen chipping in 10 points.
The Mavs' defense never allowed Mines to get into an offensive rhythm, and the Orediggers (2-8, 0-3 RMAC) ended up scoring most of their baskets in isolation, with only five assists. Two players scored all but 10 points for Mines — Josephine Howery had 20 points and Jenna Siebert 18.
The solid defense by the Mavericks created an efficient offense, shooting 42% from the field and 37% from the 3-point line. CMU added another 10 points at the free throw line and scored 13 points off the Orediggers' nine turnovers. The Mavericks turned the ball over only six times, which led to only three points by Mines.
The road split wrapped up conference play in 2024 for the Mavericks, who travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for a pair of nonconference games at Nova Southeastern on Dec. 19-20. First up is Northwest Missouri State, followed eighth-ranked Pittsburg State on Dec. 20. Both games tip off at 10 a.m. (MST), with the free live stream on the SSC Digital Network. Links to the stream and live stats are on the women's basketball schedule page at cmumavericks.com.
After returning to Colorado, the Mavericks will take their NCAA-mandated holiday break, returning to conference play Jan. 9, hosting New Mexico Highlands at Brownson Arena.
