GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — They don't talk about the winning streak, so it's safe to say the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team isn't discussing magic numbers.
For the record, the streak is 10 (the longest since 2019-20, when the Mavs rattled off 14 in a row).
The magic number is 1.
If the Mavericks (17-4, 10-2 RMAC) beat Fort Lewis in Durango on Thursday, they will clinch a spot in the RMAC Tournament. A loss by Colorado School of Mines will also secure CMU a playoff berth.
Three other teams are on the verge of clinching RMAC Tournament berths. Black Hills State, Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo all have a magic number of 2 — a combination of wins and Colorado School of Mines losses.
With a two-game lead on the field, the Mavericks are back on the road this week, at Fort Lewis at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and then at New Mexico Highlands at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The rebuilding Skyhawks (6-16, 3-11) are fighting to get out of the cellar in the RMAC, with Highlands (11-9, 8-6) in the midst of the playoff picture. The Cowgirls were hovering right at the .500 mark all season until back-to-back wins over Adams State and Fort Lewis last week pushed them over that hump.
CMU is 1-0 against both opponents this season, with a 75-48 nonconference win over Fort Lewis in the third game of the season, and then starting the current winning streak with an 86-54 RMAC rout of the Cowgirls in early January at Brownson Arena.
LAST WEEK
A pair of decisive wins at home kept CMU in control of its playoff fate, a 28-point runaway win over MSU Denver and a 15-point win over Regis.
With the unbalanced 20-game conference schedule, the Mavericks don't have a return game against MSU Denver, which is tied for 11th in the RMAC. They did, however, lose at Regis earlier this season, so it was imperative to get the split in case of a tiebreaker for seeds. Currently, Regis holds the No. 8 spot in the conference.
The Mavericks also avenged its other conference loss, to CU-Colorado Springs, which is tied with New Mexico Highlands in the 6-7 spots.
Olivia Reed Thyne (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Brooklyn Palmer (14 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles against the Rangers, and Kylie Kravig eclipsed the 500 career assists milestone. Riley Hayes hit a half-dozen 3-pointers against MSU Denver, with four steals, and Mykaela Moore added 10 points against the Roadrunners and provided solid defense against the Rangers' Erin Fry.
TURNING HEADS
That winning streak seems to have caught the eye of voters in the national polls, with the Mavericks receiving eight votes in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association rankings. They're No. 24 in the D2CSC poll (Division II Conference Sports Communicators) and No. 4 in the D2CSC South Central Regional rankings.
The official NCAA regional rankings begin next week.
The Mavs also have some Division II national statistical leaders: CMU is No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.50) and are second in the nation in fewest turnovers, averaging 11.4 per game.
Individually, Riley Hayes leads Division II with 3.24 made 3-pointers per game, and is fourth with 68 made treys.
Kylie Kravig is fifth in assists (139) and sixth in assists per game (6.6), Olivia Reed Thyne is fifth with 13 double-doubles, fifth in field goals made (187), sixth in scoring average (21.8), sixth in defensive rebounding (8.1) and eighth in field goal percentage (58.1).
Also, Wayne Cavadi, who covers Division II sports for ncaa.com, highlighted the Mavericks this week as one of eight "Red-hot DII women's basketball teams you don't want to play right now."
http://https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2025-02-05/8-red-hot-dii-womens-basketball-teams-you-dont-want-play-right-now
Cavadi singled out Olivia Reed Thyne, writing "The Mavericks also have one of the best players in DII women's basketball, not just this season, but for the past three. Olivia Reed does it all, averaging 21.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game and leads the Mavericks in blocked shots and the RMAC in field-goal percentage."
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
First-year head coach Lauren Zuniga is working to rebuild the Skyhawks, led by MSU Denver transfer Darla Hernandez. The 5-foot-10 senior forward averages 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.
Deniece Ryan and Katie Lamb also score 10 points a game and combine for 7.1 rebounds on a team that struggles to compete on the boards, ranking 13th in the RMAC at 34 per game.
The Skyhawks are out-rebounded by nearly three per game, and turn the ball over nearly 18 times a game, leading to nearly 17 points a game.
CMU has won the past 12 meetings, including a 75-48 win in November at Westminster in Salt Lake City. The teams were tied at 20-20 after the first quarter and CMU led by only six at halftime, but outscored Fort Lewis 19-5 in the third to take control. Kylie Kravig and Olivia Reed Thyne had 17 points each and Kravig dished out 10 assists in that game.
Riley Hayes came in off the bench to score 13 points after Durango native Mason Rowland was injured in the first quarter. The Mavs' sophomore guard is taking a redshirt season to rehab from the injury and will have three years of eligibility remaining starting in 2025-26.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
New Mexico Highlands is led by Juliana Aragon's 17 points, with Kapiolani Anitielu right behind at 16.7 in her sensational freshman season.
The Cowgirls are scoring 70 points a game with a plus-2.1 scoring margin. They tend to struggle on the boards, being out-rebounded by 1.5 per game, and turn the ball over nearly 17 times a game, leading to 16 points for the opponents. They do, however, average nearly 10 steals per game, pressuring ball handlers and using their quickness to slap the ball away.
In the first meeting this season, Riley Hayes and Olivia Reed Thyne became the first CMU duo to each score 30 or more points in the same game in program history. Hayes went off for nine 3-pointers, tying the single-game record, and scored a career-high 33 points, with Reed Thyne making 13 of 19 field goals for 31 points. CMU has won the past 21 meetings.
DYK?
Saturday's game will be CMU's first look at the new color scheme at the John A. Wilson Complex in Las Vegas, N.M.
Highlands stained its court lavender, with a darker shade of purple inside the lane and 3-point line.
