The No. 21 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will continue their road swing to begin the year. This week they head to Salt Lake City for a pair of matchups with Texas A&M-Kingsville and Alaska Fairbanks at Westminster's Behnken Field House.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks had a split weekend at the always difficult South Central Conference Challenge. They dropped a tough contest to West Texas A&M 85-70 in Canyon before heading down the road to Odessa where they picked up a 57-49 overtime victory against Texas Permian Basin.
 
Hallie Clark and Mason Rowland tied for the team-high with 14 points against the Buffs before Rowland went off for a 24-point, 10-rebound, double double against the Falcons. It was Rowland's first double double since January 30, 2024 against Western Colorado.
 
DO MORE WITH MOORE
Senior guard Mykaela Moore is arguably one of the most valuable members of the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team. Currently, she is the third leading scorer on the team at 8.2 points per night and is second on the team in three-point shooting among those with 10 attempts.
 
The Windsor, Colo. product is also tied for the team lead in both steals (7) and assists (13).
 
RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Colorado Mesa's Oliva Reed Thyne was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for her performance in the Mavericks first five games of the season. The first
 
Through the first five games of the season, the Windsor, Colo. native is averaging 13.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game. She had a 15 point and 16 rebound effort in the season opener against Western Washington followed by a 17 point and 20 rebound game against Saint Martin's with both resulting in Maverick wins.
 
The award is the 11^th time she has been named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week in her career.
 
RECORD WATCHING
Olivia Reed Thyne has nearly re-written the record books already but several more should fall at some point during the season. Reed Thyne has already ascended to No. 2 in career points with 1,650 and is 270 points from tying Tonya Stites for the top spot. She is also just 350 points away from becoming the Mavericks first-ever 2,000-point scorer.
 
The senior from Windsor, Colo. is 19 made field goals away from tying Stites for career field goals made and will likely set that record in fewer total games than Stites (110 games) did, Reed Thyne is at 97 total games.
 
Reed Thyne elevated to the No. 2 spot in career rebounds, scooting past the legendary Pam DeCosta, during the first weekend of play and now has 1,027 career rebounds. She became just the third Maverick all-time to eclipse 1,000 rebounds and five rebounds away from tying Tonya Stites for the top position.
 
CAREER SCORING

1. Tonya Stites, 1,920
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, 1,664

CAREER FIELD GOALS

1. Tonya Stites, 699
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, 680

CAREER REBOUNDS

1. Tonya Stites, 1,032
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, 1,027

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
Colorado Mesa will be Texas A&M-Kingsville's first opponent of the season after playing an exhibition game against McMurry where they came away victorious 76-62. The Javelinas are coming off a season where they went 18-12 on the season and defeated No. 5 Texas-Tyler in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament.
 
Head Coach Michael Madrid has five incoming freshman and six transfers along with a pair of new assistants on this year's squad. Three of the transfers came from Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools in Kaycee Groves from Black Hills State, Thalia Daniels from Regis and Caitlyn Benally from Fort Lewis.
 
Madrid is entering his seventh season with the Javelinas and has compiled an even 78-78 overall record.
 
SCOUTING ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Alaska Fairbanks is 0-2 on the young season after hosting the North Star Invitational last weekend in Alaska Airlines Gymnasium. They fell to Hawaii-Hilo 98-76 and to The Master's University 104-72 in an up and down-the-floor battle.
 
Head coach Michael Ricks is in his 15^th year of coaching but his first at Alaska Fairbanks. He spent four seasons at St. Thomas Houston, eight seasons at Division III Birmingham Southern and two seasons at Division III Goucher before his arrival.
 
The Nanooks are led by senior guard Tamai Mancuso through the first two games. She is averaging 21 points per game and had a 28-point game in the Nanooks loss to the Master's. Through two games, 21 of her 33 total shots came from beyond the arc.
 
THE STAFF
Taylor Wagner enters his 14th season at Colorado Mesa in 2024-25, the second-longest tenure in program history. His 298 career wins are also second-most in the program. Wagner made the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three years as coach, including runs to the Elite Eight in 2013 and the Sweet Sixteen in 2014. He has led his team to eight total NCAA Tournament appearances ('13, '14, '15, '19, '20, '22, '24, '25).
 
During his first season, Wagner took a team that finished the previous season 13-14 and turned it into a 31-2 team that reached the NCAA Elite Eight, defeating Midwestern State 69-65 in front of 1,975 fans in Brownson Arena to secure the South Central Region title.
 
That Mavericks team set an RMAC record for the most consecutive regular-season victories at 25, spanning from Nov. 8, 2013 to Feb. 28, 2014. Wagner won his 100th game at the helm of the Mavericks on Feb. 19, 2016 against Chadron State. It took him just 118 games to reach the mark.
 
Wagner is on the precipice of becoming the Mavericks all-time wins leader this season as he needs five wins to tie Steve Kirkham and six wins would give him 300 in his time at Colorado Mesa along with the top spot on the coaching table.
 
ALL-TIME COACHING WINS

1. Steve Kirkham, 299-157
2. Taylor Wagner, 298-91
3. Timi Brown, 58-79
4. Jack Scott, 49-59
5. Roger Walters, 38-42

 
Assistant coach Hannah Pollart is starting her 10th season as the Mavs' top assistant coach, working primarily with the post players. Pollart played one season for the Mavericks, helping CMU reach the South Central Regional championship game in 2013-14. She averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds.
 
Before transferring to CMU, Pollart played two seasons at Northeastern Junior College, where she was an All-Region IX player and an NJCAA Academic All-American. She played her junior season at Cameron University.
 
Jaylyn Duran is entering her second season on the coaching staff. Duran played at CMU from 2015-2019, averaging 12.6 points for her career, including 18.6 points as a senior, when she was the RMAC Player of the Year and a WBCA honorable mention All-America selection.
 
A CMU graduate with a degree in Kinesiology/ Fitness & Health Promotion, Duran scored 1,352 points, eighth in program history, and is first all-time in 3-point field goals made (265).
 
COLORADO MESA TURNS 100
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.

Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
 
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit cmucentury.com
 
MAVS ON THE RMAC NETWORK
The RMAC Network has moved to a pay-pre-view model for the upcoming 2025-26 season.  This season, all RMAC athletic events broadcast by its 15 full-member institutions and associate members will only be available for purchase via a single-game pass or a monthly or annual subscription. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their programs.
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them with access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
 
Additionally, a discounted annual subscription price will be available to students, faculty, and staff of each member institution throughout the year. Purchasing options and pricing for individual RMAC Championships will be announced closer to each event.
 
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will return to Grand Junction for their home opener in the revival of the Thanksgiving Classic. Colorado Mesa is set to take on Simon Fraser for the second time this season and Lone Star Conference newcomer Sul Ross State.