DENTON, Texas — As NCAA Tournament debuts go, it's hard to top Olivia Reed's performance Friday in the quarterfinals of the South Central Region Tournament.
The sophomore forward dominated on both ends of the floor, tying her career high with 30 points and pulling down 16 rebounds to lead Colorado Mesa to a 68-61 victory over Lubbock Christian.
"We knew that was going to be a tough game, I really respect Lubbock Christian," CMU coach Taylor Wagner said. "They're well-coached, they play hard, they don't beat themselves. I was proud of our girls stepping up like that. It was a battle and went back and forth, back and forth, and then we kind of broke away there at the end. I just really appreciate these girls and how hard they worked this year to get to this point and they get to play tomorrow."
The Mavericks, 25-6, face UT-Tyler, 26-8, at 4 p.m. (MDT) Saturday in the regional semifinals. Tyler dispatched Regis 74-54 in the opening round.
Reed went 13 of 16 from the field and her rebounding (7 offensive, 9 defensive) allowed the Mavericks to overcome 18 turnovers that led to 15 Lubbock Christian points.
When asked how she saw the game from her perspective, Reed smiled and said with a chuckle, "I feel like it went well. We were able to get it inside early and it seems every team kind of guards us in the paint a little bit different so early we were able to get some advantages in there.
"They kind of adjusted, but even then, one of our keys is being able to get in and go to work and if that's not working, kick it back out and get in-rhythm shots. I feel like we capitalized on that tonight."
CMU's victory ended a seven-game losing streak by RMAC teams against Lone Star Conference teams in NCAA Tournament play — the Mavericks were the last team to win a cross-conference game in the regional, beating Texas A&M Commerce in 2019.
"I kind of knew that the Lone Star kind of has in the past been the more dominant conference out of the region," Reed said. "I was thinking about that before the game and before today, Coach talked about how we haven't, or Mesa hasn't, won a first-round game in a little while, so being able to do that definitely lit some fire under us."
In a game between teams that were near mirror images, there were six ties and seven lead changes.
Kylie Kravig buried a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining to give CMU a 16-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Lubbock Christian erased a seven-point deficit in the second quarter to lead 32-31 at the half.
Despite shooting 54 percent from the field in the first half and holding the Chaparrals to 33 percent from the field, CMU turned the ball over a dozen times in the first 20 minutes. Lubbock Christian went 8 for 8 at the free throw line in the first half — CMU did not attempt a free throw until 3:41 remained in the third quarter.
Reed, who scored 14 points in the first half, picked up her third foul 18 seconds into the third quarter but played the rest of the way without committing another.
She still played aggressively on the defensive end, not allowing Lubbock Christian to establish an inside game. CMU shot 79 percent (15 of 19) at the rim, the Chaps 38 percent (9 of 24).
Mason Rowland, who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, came up with a steal and went coast-to-coast for a layup with 2:48 to play in the third quarter to give CMU a seven-point lead, 46-39. Forward Grace Foster, who led Lubbock Christian with 22 points, hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in the quarter.
That was answered by Kravig, who hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 50-47 lead entering the fourth quarter. Kravig scored 11 points and had six assists, moving her into second in single-season assists with 174, two behind Mariah Martin's record. Kravig is also second in career assists with 357, 13 behind Jill Teeters' career mark of 370.
Josee Steadman came off the bench and hit a pair of first-half 3-pointers and another in the second half, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
"I think everybody contributed in any way they could, whether it was offensively, defensively, on the bench, we're all supportive of each other," Rowland said. "That's the biggest part of our team, everybody contributes in their own way and I think that's what's gotten us here."
Reed scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, making all four of her field goal attempts and all four free throws, and had five rebounds in the final 10 minutes. Friday's game was Reed's fifth 30-point performance and her 12th double-double of the season.
Still, it was 61-61 with 1:09 to play after Foster hit a turnaround jumper and a 3-pointer to erase CMU's five-point lead.
Kravig found a seam in the defense and drove for a go-ahead layup and Rowland grabbed a key defensive rebound with 31 seconds remaining. Reed made four free throws in the final 27 seconds to put the game away.
Mesa's game against UT Tyler will be a reunion of sorts for Wagner, who played for associate head coach Tim Moser, and was later his assistant at Otero Junior College. Tyler head coach Rebecca Alvidrez played for Wagner at Otero and was later his assistant coach.
"There's probably a lot of familiar things that are said in the locker rooms and philosophies," Wagner said. "They do a great job and their teams are well-prepared and they get out and compete, so it'll be fun to go against a bunch of Rattlers."
