GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Knowing they'll still be playing next week wasn't much consolation Saturday night for the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team.

The Mavericks were stinging from a 63-61 loss to CU-Colorado Springs in the championship game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, only their second loss of the season at home and their first in 2025.

"Tough way to go out, last game on your home floor," CMU coach Taylor Wagner said. "Man, I was hoping for that storybook ending, you know, Riley (Hayes) hits the 3, that would have been awesome, but

those girls, they get to keep playing basketball. You can't just take a couple plays or a game about a career.
They did a great job and and they should be proud of what they've done as a Maverick."

Ranked No. 4 in the South Central Region entering Saturday, the Mavericks are all but assured a spot in the eight-team tournament — bids will be extended at 8:30 Sunday night on ncaa.com — but the Mountain Lions
(19-11) had to win the tournament title to keep their season alive. The RMAC's automatic bid to the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs goes to the tournament champion.

Colorado Mesa (25-5) led Saturday's game for all but one minute, 41 seconds, and led by 15 points in the
second quarter. UCCS didn't take its first lead until 5:34 remained when Amaya Snowden hit a second-chance layup. Brooklyn Palmer responded with a three-point play to put CMU back up 57-55, and the game was tied three times in the final four minutes.

Tournament MVP Amaya Moore Allen hit a contested jumper with 41 seconds left to put the Mountain Lions up 61-59. With the Mavs' All-America forward, Olivia Reed Thyne, on the bench after picking her fifth foul earlier in the fourth quarter, Palmer gave the Mavs the inside presence they needed. She grabbed a rebound off her own miss and drew a foul with 22 seconds left, hitting both free throws to tie it at 61-61.

A UCCS timeout advanced the ball to the front court, and everyone in the packed house at Brownson Arena knew who the Mountain Lions wanted to take their last shot. Moore Allen, who finished with 28 points, got the ball, but Hayes' defense made her give it up. With the clock running down, the Mountain Lions were in scramble mode beyond the 3-point line. Mya Wilson's runner in the lane hit the rim and bounced a few times before falling through the net with 2.7 seconds left.

CMU called time, advancing the ball, and threw a backside lob to Lauren Deede, who was knocked to the floor, and the ball went out of bounds off a UCCS player. On the inbounds play under the basket, Hayes inbounded to Mykaela Moore, who immediately passed it back to Hayes in the corner. Her 3-pointer was on line, but kicked off the rim at the horn, giving the Mountain Lions the title.

Losing Reed Thyne for a long stretch in the second half after she picked up her fourth foul had the Mavericks out of rhythm offensively. The shot clock was running down on several possessions, and the Mountain Lions' ball-pressure defense made it tough to get good looks.

Reed Thyne picked up her fourth foul with 2:56 left in the third quarter and headed to the bench, and didn't check back in until 6:09 mark of the fourth quarter.

"Olivia Reed getting in foul trouble," Wagner said about the turning point of the game. "I mean, that was the biggest thing, she just does so much for us, offensively and defensively, and even when she had that fourth one she was playing not to pick up the fifth one, and they were going at her. I think that was the biggest thing ... it just opens everybody else up when she's on the floor."

She was whistled for her fifth foul going after a loose ball with 3:05 remaining in a 57-57 game, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and two assists.

The Mavericks scored only four more points to see their 18-game winning streak snapped and their dream of capping the season with the regular-season RMAC title and the tournament title dashed.

"Sometimes you just need to want to take the big shot," Wagner said. "And you know, there were times late in that shot clock, it was hot potato, and we were tossing around like, I don't want to. I know there were a couple shot clock violations, and they got a couple blocks on us. We just can't execute like that late in the game and expect to win."

Palmer finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, Moore had 11 point and five boards, and Kravig, in her final home game, had seven points, all at the free throw line, four assists and four rebounds. The four assists put Kravig at 182 this season, breaking her own program record of 180 set last season.

Reed Thyne and Kravig earned spots on the all-tournament team.

Wagner expects Saturday's loss to serve as a reset for the Mavericks entering the regional playoffs. They reached the semifinals last season.

"I hope it focuses us a little a little bit more. It's a winnable tournament," he said. "I think we could go down there … with fresh legs and fresh eyes and a different place and bring some energy in there, I think we can go and advance a little bit further."