GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — For years, Colorado Mesa's success on the basketball court has been a direct result of the defense.
And although the Mavericks started this season 5-0, the defense wasn't quite what coach Taylor Wagner demands. That all changed in January, as the still-young Mavericks, with only one senior, guard Laura Gutierrez, and only two returning starters, junior guard Kylie Kravig and sophomore forward Olivia Reed, found their defensive footing. From there, CMU took off, winning 12 of its past 13 games.
The Mavericks (24-5) will ride their six-game winning streak and 13-0 home record into Tuesday night's RMAC Tournament quarterfinal against CSU Pueblo. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. at Brownson Arena, with the men's quarterfinal game against Chadron State to follow at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the RMAC Tournament site and at the Maverick Store inside the Maverick Center before the game. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.
Ticket information, the bracket, links to all tournament games, plus how to watch games online can be accessed by clicking the "RMAC Tournament Page" link to the right.
Should the Mavericks, the No. 1 seed in both the women's and men's tournaments, win Tuesday, they will host the semifinal and championship games on Friday and Saturday. The RMAC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the South Central Regional tournament in the NCAA Division II national playoffs.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
In January, teams were shooting 39 percent from the field against Colorado Mesa.
Opponents were getting too many easy looks, were beating defenders off the dribble and shooting uncontested layups.
Then, like a tire with a slow leak, those shooting percentages started to go down. And in Taylor Wagner's system, a flat tire is a good thing. It means the Mavericks have bought into the defensive principles he preaches from the moment they step on campus.
By the end of January, the defensive field goal percentage had ticked down to 38.7. In mid-February it was down to 37.3, just before the Mavericks faced Colorado School of Mines, then ranked No. 20 in the nation, and MSU Denver, which got two of its best players back from injury.
Back-to-back defensive efforts that allowed those two teams to shoot a combined 27.2 percent (30 of 110) from the field saw the Mavs' field goal defense plummet to 36.5 percent, then to 35.8 after New Mexico Highlands shot only 14.8 percent in its own gym, followed by CSU Pueblo shooting 34 percent at Massari Arena.
Mesa's current field goal defensive percentage now sits at 35.9, by far the best in the RMAC — CU-Colorado Springs is second at 37.2 percent.
Conversely, the Mavericks have shot between 41-44 percent from the field all season, from a high of 43.9 to their current 41.9, which is fifth in the conference. Teams were scoring nearly 62 points a game against the Mavs; that is now down to 55.9, the fewest in the conference.
Because of their defense, the Mavs have the best scoring margin in the RMAC, +13.5, and when you put it all together, it's easy to see why CMU started climbing steadily in the standings as that leaky tire got flatter and flatter.
It's not flat yet — Wagner believes the Mavs can still be better defensively, but the marked improvement has him smiling.
"Our defense really stepped up and that was the key in everything. You know, about the middle of the year we were halfway down in defensive field goal percentage and points allowed, and I think today we're in first in both in the RMAC and that's a testament to the girls kind of buying in on the defensive side," Wagner said after CMU's win over Western Colorado last week to clinch the No. 1 seed. "You kind of see what happens, and all the teams that are in (the four-way tie for the conference title) play great D."
SPEAKING OF DEFENSE
Olivia Reed was selected the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, her fourth defensive honor of the season and seventh in her career.
The sophomore forward blocked a career-high five shots against Western Colorado on Saturday night after swatting three shots on Tuesday at Westminster. She grabbed 29 rebounds in the two games and recorded her 10th and 11th double-doubles of the season.
Release
A CHANGE IN THE AIR(WAVES)
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced the addition of a subscription model to all 2023-24 RMAC championship broadcasts on the RMAC Network. The conference approved the pay-per-view concept as a way to offset the league's broadcasting initiatives and operations associated with championship events.
Fans will be able to purchase day passes for $9.95, or $30 for the entire championship. For details or to purchase a pass, go to the "RMAC Tournament Page" link on the right and click on the RMAC Network link.
For technical support questions, fans may submit a support ticket with Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (help@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.
IN THE POLLS
The second ranked poll in the South Central Region will be released by the NCAA on Wednesday afternoon. Those rankings, however, will not include the results of Tuesday's RMAC quarterfinal games. Colorado Mesa was No. 2 last week behind Texas Woman's University. Regis was third, followed by Colorado School of Mines, Texas at Tyler, Texas Permian Basin, Lubbock Christian, Adams State, CU-Colorado Springs and Colorado Christian.
The tournament champions from the RMAC and Lone Star Conference receive automatic bids to the South Central Regional tournament, plus six at-large teams, based on the final rankings. Bids will be announced on Sunday, March 10 on ncaa.com.
Rankings of all eight regions can be found here.
PICK 'EM
The RMAC coaches were a bit off in the preseason voting. Colorado Mesa was picked to place sixth, with Regis tabbed No. 1, followed by Colorado School of Mines, CSU Pueblo, Adams State and Black Hills State. The Mavericks, Regis, Adams State and CU-Colorado Springs, which was picked to finish ninth, tied for the conference championship.
SERIES HISTORY
Colorado Mesa has a 34-25 advantage in the all-time series against CSU Pueblo, 20-11 at Brownson Arena and has won the past three meetings. However, CSU Pueblo is 3-0 against the Mavericks in the RMAC Tournament (2008, 2015, 2016).
In their two games this season, the Mavericks won 74-59 at Brownson Arena behind Mason Rowland's career-high 30 points and a defense that allowed the Pack to shoot 28.6 percent, with Olivia Reed adding 20 points. CMU claimed a 62-47 win in Pueblo on Feb. 24, with Sophie Hadad hitting four of six from the 3-point line, Reed scoring 14 points and Rowland 10 in a balanced attack. It was the defense, however, that was the key, allowing Alisha Little to score only four points in the second half, all at the free throw line.
SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS
Not only has Colorado Mesa won or shared in 11 RMAC regular-season championships, more than any other team in the conference, the Mavericks are playing in their conference-leading 28th tournament. Mesa has won 32 games in those appearances, the most among the eight quarterfinalists — CSU Pueblo is second with 27 wins in 21 tournaments. This is the 32nd conference tournament.
CMU has won five conference tournament championships (2002, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020) and finished as the runner-up four times. The first women's RMAC Tournament was played in 1993.
Against the RMAC Tournament field, CMU is 8-4, including one nonconference win against Colorado Christian.
Olivia Reed continues to lead the way, averaging 17.2 points a game and leads the RMAC in field goal percentage, .583. Defensively, she averages 11.3 rebounds, just behind CSU Pueblo's Alisha Little's 11.5.
Freshman guard Mason Rowland, who has come off the bench in all 29 games, is scoring 14.7 points and grabbing 4.9 rebounds a game and is No. 3 in free throw shooting in the conference at 87.2 percent. Laura Gutierrez is scoring 8.2 points a game and is a solid weak-side rebounder at 3.9 per game. Point guard Kylie Kravig leads the RMAC with 166 assists, third in the program's single-season record book behind Mariah Martin (176) and Jill Teeters (171).
Josee Steadman hit a career-high eight 3-pointers against Westminster last week and has a team-high 51 this season, despite coming off the bench, and averages 7.4 points, with Sophie Hadad scoring 6.4 and Claire Heitschmidt 5.5. Every player on the floor is a 3-point threat, with four of the top seven shooting over 35 percent from beyond the arc and the other three over 27 percent. Reed, who attempted only one 3-pointer last season, has hit 13 of 45 this season.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
Two words: Alisha Little.
The 6-foot-1 redshirt junior forward is putting up eye-popping numbers on both ends of the floor. Little, who sat out last season after the birth of her daughter, has scored 10 or more points in all but one game this season, and has a nation-leading 22 double-doubles. She's sixth in the nation in scoring, averaging 20.4 points, and fourth in rebounding at 11.7 per game. Her 105 blocked shots is also first in Division II. She leads the RMAC in both scoring and rebounding.
Little broke CSU Pueblo's single-game scoring record, held by former Fruita Monument High School standout Sherry Vallejos that had stood since 1991. She also had nine blocks against UCCS, breaking the program record she held with Molly Rohrer.
Little isn't the Pack's only weapon, however. Autumn Watts is averaging 10.2 points and 6 rebounds, Landri Hudson adds 7.8 points and has made a team-high 47 three-pointers.
This is the second straight year the ThunderWolves have drawn the No. 8 seed in the RMAC Tournament, losing to Regis last season in the quarterfinals.
CSU Pueblo had a one-game lead on Fort Lewis going into the final weekend of the regular season, and despite falling to UCCS on Friday, clinched a spot in the tournament when Fort Lewis lost to MSU Denver.
They enter Tuesday's game on a three-game losing streak, but the ThunderWolves also have some signature wins this season, including a 59-58 victory over the University of Texas at Tyler, which was ranked No. 8 in the nation at the time and is currently ranked fifth in the South Central Region.
Despite going 11-11 in conference play, CSU Pueblo defeated conference co-champion Regis and had two close losses to co-champion Adams State, including one in overtime. Last weekend, the ThunderWolves pushed co-champion UCCS until the final few minutes before losing.
They have two losses to Colorado Mesa, 74-59 in early January at Brownson Arena, and 62-47 two weeks ago at Massari Arena.
THE COACHES
Taylor Wagner is 268-82 as Colorado Mesa's head coach, with eight 20-win seasons, including 2023-24, and two with 30 wins. Wagner led the Mavericks to the Division II Elite Eight in 2013, his first season at CMU, has six NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 total RMAC championships (regular season and tournament).
Tommie Johnson is in his fourth season as the ThunderWolves' coach after being an assistant with the men's program for eight seasons, then moving to the University of Denver as a women's assistant for former CSU Pueblo coach Jim Turgeon. He's 64-70 with the Pack and has CSU Pueblo in the RMAC Tournament for the third straight season. Former CMU guard Jaylyn Duran, who grew up in Pueblo, is an assistant for the ThunderWolves.
DYK?
This is the fourth time multiple teams have tied for the RMAC regular-season championship in women's basketball. Colorado Mesa has been part of three co-championships — this season with Regis, Adams State and UCCS; in 1992-93 with Fort Hays State and Chadron State; and in 1988-89 with Fort Lewis, Western New Mexico and CSU Pueblo. Former Mavs coach Steve Kirkham shared this tidbit: Jill Teeters (Derrieux) hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Fort Lewis in Durango in the final game of the 1988-89 season to make it a four-way tie.
