GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Ten down, 10 to go in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball play.
Five weeks to determine the top eight teams that will play for the tournament championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Region playoffs.
For Colorado Mesa (13-4, 8-2 RMAC), it starts at Massari Arena in Pueblo against CSU Pueblo (12-6, 7-3) at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. The teams have played once this season, with CMU claiming a 70-52 victory at Brownson Arena in a nonconference matchup. Thursday's game is the only time the teams will meet in conference play, so it's crucial in case tournament seeding comes down to head-to-head tiebreakers.
Just as important is Saturday afternoon's rematch at CU-Colorado Springs (10-7, 6-4), which knocked off the Mavs at Brownson 65-56 in the RMAC opener.
The game against the ThunderWolves could be the final one the series between the top two post players in the conference, CMU's Olivia Reed Thyne and CSU Pueblo's Alisha Little. Reed Thyne is the reigning RMAC Player of the Year and Little was the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year last season. They're 1-2 in the conference in both scoring and rebounding, and while they don't necessarily cancel one another out, how their supporting casts play always goes a long way in the outcome.
In their earlier meeting, the Mavericks had four players reach double figures, led Riley Hayes' 18, and the ThunderWolves had only two primary scorers, Little with 22 and Tomia Johnson with 11.
In the loss to UCCS, four Mavs scored in double figures, but they were the only players who did score, and CMU committed a dozen turnovers, leading to 16 points for UCCS. Amyah Moore Allen had a terrific game for the Mountain Lions, scoring 24 points.
ABOUT LAST WEEK
A pair of road victories catapulted the Mavericks into a tie for first place in the RMAC.
On Thursday, Colorado Mesa defeated Black Hills State 57-41 behind 18 first-half points from Olivia Reed Thyne and some lock-down defense. The Mavericks allowed only 15 first-half points, a season low, and overcame a sluggish third quarter to hand the Yellow Jackets only their second conference loss of the season. Black Hills State shot only 25 percent from the field in its own gym, CMU shot just under 38 percent.
At the end of the night, four teams were tied for first place, but after Saturday's play wrapped up, that number was cut in half, with CMU and Western Colorado owning shares of the lead after the first half of the RMAC season.
On Saturday, there was no letdown against Chadron State, which had won only two games in conference play. The Mavericks shot 50 percent from the field and got a 30-point game from Reed Thyne in a 79-48 rout. Brooklyn Palmer added 14 points, making all six of her attempts from the field, and Mykaela Moore added 10 points.
RANKINGS
In this week's D2CSC rankings, the Mavericks moved up one spot to No. 4 in the South Central Region and received four votes in the national rankings.
Texas Woman's, Texas Tyler and Lubbock Christian remained in the top three regional spots, with Grand Valley State, Texas Woman's, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Bentley ranked 1-4 in both the D2CSC and the WBCA national polls. Colorado Mesa is the only RMAC team mentioned in either national poll; Western Colorado is No. 5, Black Hills State No. 7 and CSU Pueblo No. 8 in the region, with CU-Colorado Springs and New Mexico Highlands receiving votes.
NUMBERS GAME
As a team, the Mavericks lead Division II with a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio and are second in fewest turnovers per game at 11.6. Their 17.4 assists per game ranks 10th.
Individually, Riley Hayes is first in 3-pointers made per game at 3.2 and is 12th in 3-pointers made (54). Olivia Reed Thyne is third in field goals (161), fourth with 11 double-doubles , fifth in defensive rebounding (140) and fifth in points per game (22.8).
Kylie Kravig is fourth in the nation in assists (116) and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2).
Kravig leads the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, assists and assists per game (6.8); Reed Thyne is No. 1 in field goal percentage (59.6) and field goals made; and Hayes in 3-pointers attempted (149), made (54), percentage (36.2) and 3-pointers per game (3.2).
SCOUTING THE THUNDERWOLVES
Alisha Little, the 6-foot-1 All-American forward, is having a stellar senior season, averaging 24.8 points and 11.4 rebounds a game. In addition to that, her length and ability to anticipate makes her one of the best shot blockers in the nation with 71. That length has also led to 51 steals for Little.
Guard Tomia Johnson, the head coach's daughter, is averaging 8.4 points, Landri Hudson 7.4 and Brynae Stewart 7.3. Hudson is the top 3-point threat, making 31 through 18 games, but Little can also hit from beyond the arc, making 20.
CSU Pueblo's quick guard will pick up pressure in full court to create turnovers — teams average more than 18 giveaways a game — and they also put plenty of pressure on the ball in the half-court.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
Amyah Moore Allen, a 5-foot-8 junior guard, makes the Mountain Lions go, scoring 17.5 points a game. She also sets up her teammates, with 50 assists, and leads the team with 39 steals. Maison White, a 6-foot senior forward, is a tough matchup inside, scoring 13.2 points and grabbing 10.9 rebounds. She's third in the RMAC in rebounding this season behind Little and Reed Thyne.
With 855 career boards, White is the all-time rebounding leader at UCCS and was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after back-to-back double-doubles.
Averaging 65.1 points a game, the Mountain Lions have figured out how to win close games — they have a scoring margin of 1.2 points a game.
THE COACHES
Taylor Wagner is in his 13th season in charge of the CMU women's program, with a 282-88 record (.762). In RMAC play, he has a 210-60 mark (.777). He's the second-longest tenured coach in program history and is also second in wins.
Wagner took the Mavericks to the Division II Elite Eight in his first season, has won or shared in six conference regular-season championships, two RMAC Tournament titles, earned seven regional tournament bids and six RMAC Coach of the Year awards, including 2023-24.
Tommie Johnson is in his sixth season as the head women's coach at CSU Pueblo, returning to Pueblo after two seasons as a women's assistant at the University of Denver for former ThunderWolves coach Jim Turgeon.
Prior to going to DU, Johnson was the top men's assistant at CSU Pueblo from 2008-2016.
Johnson played at Otero Junior College, where he was was a teammate of Taylor Wagner's in 1999. Johnson then transferred to CU-Colorado Springs, where he obtained his degree.
Misty Wilson is in her second season at CU-Colorado Springs after nine years as the head coach at Tarleton State.
In her first year in Colorado Springs, the Mountain Lions improved by 13 games over the previous season and finished in a four-way tie for the RMAC regular-season championship. Included in last year's title run was a program-record 12-game winning streak.
Wilson played at Tarleton State and is in the school's Hall of Fame. After 12 years as an assistant, she took over the program, and in her final three seasons guided the team in its transition to Division I status.
DYK?
Olivia Reed Thyne can eclipse 400 points on the season this week — she's at 387 entering Thursday's game. Only seven other players in Division II have scored 400 points so far in the 2024-25 season. Reed Thyne has scored 1,298 points in the first 78 games of her career, and she's also on pace for 1,000 career rebounds, with 831. Only two other players in CMU program history are in the 1,000-1,000 club, Tonya Stites (1,920 points/1,032 rebounds) and Pam DeCosta (1,333/1,012).
