COLORADO SPRINGS — Come crunch time Saturday, the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team had a distinct advantage.
Free throws.
The Mavericks, one of the best free throw-shooting teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, made 11 of 16 freebies in the fourth quarter and outscored CU-Colorado Springs 20-8 at the line overall in their crucial 62-58 road victory.
The win, CMU's eighth straight, allowed the Mavericks (15-4, 10-2) to split the season series with the Mountain Lions and remain in sole possession of first place. They extended their lead by another game after CSU Pueblo defeated Western Colorado to move into a tie with the Mountaineers and Adams State for second place at 8-4.
The Mavericks used a 20-3 first-half run to take control, but behind guard Amaya Moore Allen, the Mountain Lions came all the way back in the second and briefly led, 31-28, with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
Mykaela Moore made one of two free throws and the Mavs forced a turnover on the other end. They went inside to Olivia Reed Thyne for a layup, tying the game at 31-31. A 3-pointer by Riley Hayes followed and the Mavericks had the lead for good, 34-31, with just under five minutes remaining.
Moore Allen, though, never let CMU get comfortable, driving for layups time and time again, scoring a game-high 28 points to keep it close.
It was a four-point game with 17 seconds to play after Moore Allen scored off the break, but the Mavs' Moore hit a pair of free throws after a quick foul to give CMU enough of a cushion in the final 15 seconds.
Reed Thyne had her 12th double-double of the season with 19 points and 12 rebounds despite having a tough night shooting, going 6 for 16 from the field. She hit seven of eight free throws and came up with a couple of big baskets in the final six minutes to keep the Mavs in control.
Hayes, too, knocked down four big 3-pointers and had 17 points and Kylie Kravig added 10 points.
Brooklyn Palmer, tasked with keeping Maison White controlled in the paint, responded with nine points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and seven rebounds, the second straight game she's drawn the defensive assignment on one of the top post players in the RMAC. Thursday, she had the primary guarding duty against CSU Pueblo's Alisha Little.
White finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, but was scoreless in the first half and was in foul trouble much of the game trying to defend Reed Thyne.
The Mavericks shot 34 percent from the field, UCCS 37 percent, and both teams hit a half-dozen 3-pointers. The difference was at the line — the Mountain Lions (11-8, 7-5) are last in the conference in free throw percentage.
That early 20-3 scoring run came over a 13-minute span that allowed Colorado Mesa to build a 26-14 lead, but UCCS came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first 12 points of the third quarter. That allowed the Mountain Lions to take a 31-28 lead with 6:07 to play in the third quarter.
Colorado Mesa won its 14th game while leading at halftime and is undefeated in 2025, winning on the road in conference play for the sixth time in seven games. The Mavs lost their RMAC road opener by two points at Regis, but have won six in a row away from Brownson Arena by an average of 13 points.
Colorado Mesa returns home to face MSU Denver on Thursday at Brownson Arena, followed by a rematch with Regis on Saturday afternoon.
