The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team moved up from No. 21 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll to No. 15 ahead of their home opening weekend in the Maverick Thanksgiving Classic. The Mavericks will play host to Simon Fraser for the second time this season and Lone Star Conference's Sul Ross State on Friday and Saturday in Brownson Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks traveled to Salt Lake City for a pair of games at Behnken Field House on the campus of Westminster and came away with a pair of lopsided wins. On Friday, they defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 68-39 before defeating Alaska Fairbanks 102-53.
 
Olivia Reed Thyne averaged 14.5 points and eight rebounds while Mason Rowland averaged 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the two wins.
 
A total of four players averaged double figure scoring while the team shot over 45 percent from the floor.
 
DAZZLING DEBUT
Freshman Brooke Harding saw action for the first time this season and immediately had an impact. The Castle Pines, Colo. native played 20 minutes and finished with 16 points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in the Mavericks win over Texas A&M-Kingsville. She shot 66.7 percent from the floor and was 3-for-5 from downtown in her debut.
 
She backed it up with a modest six points and four rebounds the next night in the Mavericks win over the Nanooks.
 
AN ALL-TIME MILESTONE
Head coach Taylor Wagner had a milestone victory on Saturday that may have been a little extra special. Wagner won his 300^th game patrolling the sideline for Colorado Mesa's women's basketball team in Saturday's 102-53 win over Alaska Fairbanks. That win also made him the program's winningest basketball coach at Colorado Mesa eclipsing three stalwarts.
 
Doug Schakel, Jim Heaps and Steve Kirkham all finished their career with 299 wins. Schakel was the men's coach from 1978-96 and was succeeded by his former player in Heaps from 1996-13 while Kirkham was the women's coach from 1988-04.
 
Wagner becomes the 40^th active head coach with 300 wins and is tied with Jess Strom of California (PA) and Darin Glover of Southeastern Oklahoma.
 
RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For the second straight week and the 12^th time in her career, senior Olivia Reed Thyne was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against both Texas A&M-Kingsville and Alaska Fairbanks.
 
The Windsor, Colo. native finished the 2-0 weekend for the Mavericks averaging 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and a block. She had 17 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and four steals in the Mavericks win over Alaska Fairbanks in Saturday's weekend finale.
 
During the win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, Reed Thyne became the Mavericks all-time leading rebounder with 1,043 career rebounds. She surpassed Tonya Stites who pulled down 1,032 rebounds during her career which went from 1990-94.
 
RECORD WATCHING
One down, two to go for Olivia Reed Thyne and her onslaught of the Colorado Mesa record book. The Windsor, Colo. native took down the all-time rebounds record last Friday against Texas A&M-Kingsville with a nine rebound performance and now has 1,043 rebounds in her career.
 
She is gaining on the career scoring mark that wont happen, likely, until the end of the season. The senior is currently 227 points away from the tying Tonya Stites' record of 1,920 points.
 
One record that could and should fall this weekend is the career made field goals record of 699 set by Tonya Stites. Reed Thyne is seven made field goals short of tying that record and has made seven field goals on two occasions this season. She will also set the record in fewer games than Stites did (110 games) as Reed Thyne will be playing in her 100^th game on Friday.
 
CAREER SCORING

1. Tonya Stites, 1,920
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, 1,693

 
CAREER FIELD GOALS

1. Tonya Stites, 699
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, 692

 
CAREER REBOUNDS

1. Olivia Reed Thyne, 1,043
2. Tonya Stites, 1,032

 
SCOUTING SIMON FRASER
This will be the second time the Mavericks are taking on the Red Leafs this season. The two teams met back on November 1 as a part of the D2 CCA Canadian Tipoff Classic in Canada with Colorado Mesa coming away with a 61-54 road victory.
 
The Red Leafs are spearheaded by longtime head coach Bruce Langford who is entering his 23^rd season. Langford is 514-205 all-time and has led Simon Fraser to the NCAA Tournament three times including runs to the Sweet 16 in 2013 and 2017.
 
Rachel Loukes continues to lead Simon Fraser as she is averaging 17 points and just over six boards per game through the first seven games of the season. She has been in double figure scoring in each game including a season-high 22 points against Westmont. The Prince George, B.C. native also hauled in a season-high 12 rebounds in the Red Leafs win over Adams State.
 
Colorado Mesa has a 4-1 edge in the all-time series.
 
SCOUTING SUL ROSS STATE
The Lobos enter the Thanksgiving Classic with a 1-1 record on the season with a win over Northern New Mexico and falling to in-state Division III opponent Schreiner in the first two weeks of the season.
 
Sul Ross State is headed by EJ Lee Smith in fourth season in Alpine, Texas. Prior to her time with the Lobos, she spent 30 seasons as the Associate Head Coach at her alma mater of Louisiana Monroe.
 
The Lobos have a pair of players averaging over 10 points per game in Sophiya Bustillos (14.5) and Victoria Aguayo (12.5). Bustillos scored a season-high 16 points against Schreiner while Aguayo had the hot hand against Northern New Mexico as she had 17 in the win.
 
This marks the first-ever meeting between Colorado Mesa and Sul Ross State.
 
THE STAFF
Taylor Wagner enters his 14th season at Colorado Mesa in 2024-25, the second-longest tenure in program history. Coach Wagner reached his 300^th win at Colorado Mesa on Saturday November 22 with a 102-53 win over Alaska Fairbanks in Salt Lake City. The 300^th win also made him the all-time winningest coach in Colorado Mesa women's basketball history eclipsing the 299 win Steve Kirkham collected from 1988-to-2004.  
 
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. Taylor Wagner, 300-91
2. Steve Kirkham, 299-157
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
Next week, the Mavericks will open the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of their schedule on the road. They will travel to UCCS for a matchup with the Mountain Lions on Thursday before a trip up North for to Lakewood for a matchup with Colorado Christian on Saturday.