LANGLEY, B.C. – The No. 21 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team started the season off on the right foot as they defeated Great Northwest Athletic Conference favorite Western Washington 65-62 to open the CCA Canadian Tip-off Classic at the Langley Events Center.
 
The Mavericks built a 12-point lead in the first half as they led 26-14 with 6:37 left to go in the second quarter after Olivia Reed Thyne made a pair of free throws. That lead quickly evaporated though as the Vikings battled back to tie the game at 32-32 heading into the break.
 
After jumping out to an early three-point advantage after halftime, the Mavericks trailed nearly the entire second half. They trailed by as many as seven with 4:47 to play in the game after Western Washington converted a turnover into points at 58-51.
 
The Mavericks closed the game out on a 14-4 run including a pair of Mykaela Moore free throws with three seconds remaining that iced the win. Colorado Mesa limited Western Washington to 4-for-14 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter and were able to force seven turnovers that led to nine Maverick points.
 
Olivia Reed Thyne finished the game with 15 points and 16 rebounds for her 41^st career double-double. She picked up that double-double in the first half as she went into the break with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Windsor, Colo. native shot 5-for-11 from the field and added a block and a steal on the defensive end.
 
Redshirt sophomore Mason Rowland played her first game after coming off an injury and had 11 points and eight rebounds. She was 10-for-12 from the line and dished out four assists in nearly 35 minutes of floor time.
 
Viking Libby Stump finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting from the field.
 
Both teams turned the ball over 24 times in the season opener with Colorado Mesa taking the biggest advantage converting those into 27 points while the Vikings converted the turnovers into just 18 points. The other advantage came at the free-throw line where the Mavericks shot 84 percent (21-for-25) while Western Washington shot 72.7 percent (16-for-22).
 
Colorado Mesa will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on the host Simon Fraser Red Leafs at 6:45pm.