GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — It was 9-0 in the blink of an eye, and the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team didn't slow down Saturday, rolling to an 88-49 victory over Westminster University.
The Mavericks (11-4, 6-2) won their fourth straight game and moved into a three-way tie for second place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo, one game behind the team they face next week, Black Hills State (11-4, 7-1) in Spearfish, S.D.
Colorado Mesa set the tone on defense, which translated to offense, not allowing the Griffins (3-13, 2-6) to score for nearly three minutes to open the game.
"I thought the girls did a great job at the beginning of the game," coach Taylor Wagner said. "We came out, the defense was great, we hit our shots, were moving the ball and and, like you said, we just kind of kept it going from there on out."
Riley Hayes made six of CMU's 12 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, mixing her perimeter game with mid-range jumpers.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to mix it up, have something else in case my shot's not hitting," Hayes said. "I want to be able to have another go to so I'm not just like a one-dimensional player."
Brooklyn Palmer had her second double-double in the past three games with a season-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Olivia Reed Thyne added 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks in another stat-stuffer outing.
Junior Mykaela Moore, making her first start in a CMU uniform, scored a career-high 14 points, with five rebounds and seven assists.
"I guess I was definitely nervous, but I'm always nervous, so I just go out there and do the things that I know how to do, and then it all goes away, and then you just have fun while you're out there," said Moore, who transferred to CMU last season from Colorado Christian.
Moore's playing time has steadily increased this season, and the 5-foot-7 guard showed why, attacking the basket from the wing, slicing in for rebounds and finding open shooters.
"She's a hustle player," Wagner said. "She gets out there, she runs the floor well, attacks the basket like she said, and defensively, she steps up. She's doing a great job, and that's what I love about her. She just brings energy. Hopefully that role keeps getting bigger for her, and she gets more comfortable because she's going to play an important part as we get down the stretch here."
Up 16 points at the half, the Mavericks blew it wide open by outscoring Westminster 29-12 in the third quarter and stretching the lead to as many as 34 points.
The Mavericks hit three straight 3-pointers, one by Palmer and two by Hayes, and Moore made her first 3-pointer of the season with 3:26 left in the third quarter on one of Kylie Kravig's nine assists, then Palmer took a sweet pass from Kravig on the run for a layup. Two free throws from Moore and another 3 from Palmer gave CMU a 70-36 lead with just less than one minute to play in the third.
Moore used her quickness to sprint the length of the court after a steal in the paint by Reed Thyne, laying the ball in for an 80-43 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Another 3 by Hayes put CMU up 83-45 and Wagner started emptying the bench.
Sedonia Isenbart spelled Kravig to open the fourth quarter and made the first 3-pointer of her college career, and Kailey Page banked in a 3 with 40 seconds remaining for the first points of her career.
As a team, the Mavericks shot an even 50% from the field and from the 3-point line, forced 18 turnovers, which they converted into 21 points, turned the ball over only five times and allowed the Griffins to shoot 36.8% from the field and gave up only two 3-pointers.
What Wagner also liked was how well the Mavericks shared the ball, with 29 assists on 32 made baskets.
"I like when we're finding each other. It just makes it that much more harder to guard, and I think the girls enjoy that, too," Wagner said. "And when they're looking for each other, then I feel like we get better shots."
