The No. 10 Colorado Mesa women's basketball heads out on a three-game road trip and will be playing four games in eight days beginning on Thursday January 8. The Mavericks moved up one spot in the national poll this week after South Central Region foe Lubbock Christian dropped a contest to St. Mary's who was receiving votes in the national poll the week prior.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks opened the New Year with a lopsided win over the Regis Rangers 72-44 last Saturday in Brownson Arena. The win gave the Mavericks an 11-game winning streak and are now in a tie for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference lead with the Adams State Grizzlies.
 
Olivia Reed Thyne led the scoring effort with 21 points while Mason Rowland and Mykaela Moore each chipped in 16 points and 12 points respectively. Rowland also completed a double double with 10 rebounds while Moore finished with a career-high six steals.

WALL OF THIEVES
Colorado Mesa is the top team in the RMAC in blocked shots and had one of their best steal nights in years against Regis. The two stat categories are just a small piece of why the Mavericks have one of the top defenses in conference, region and country.
 
They average 3.2 blocks per game as a team which is 0.20 more than CSU Pueblo which equates to 12 total blocks. Olivia Reed Thyne leads the team and conference in total blocks with 18.
 
Both Reed Thyne and Mykaela Moore reached career-highs in steals in the Mavericks win over Regis. Reed Thyne had four steals while Moore had six steals in Colorado Mesa's 17 steal effort against the Rangers.

EARNING THE MINUTES
Junior Brooke Eyre has played behind one of the best players in women's college basketball in her three years but is now making the most of her opportunities on the floor. Eyre went from playing six or seven minutes a game to averaging over 20 minutes a game in the last five contests.
 
For the season, the Provo, Utah native 14.5 minutes per game with 1.5 points and 2.5 rebounds but is now fifth on the team in assists with 21. She has also been praised by her coaches for her output on the defensive end of the floor.

RECORDS WITHIN REACH
Senior Olivia Reed Thyne is on a path to claim several records during her final season with the Mavericks. The Windsor, Colo. native has already claimed the all-time rebound and all-time field goals made records earlier this season and is on pace to claim the all-time scoring mark which currently sits at 1,920.
 
She is currently 43 points away from tying the record that was set by Tonya Stites in the early 1990s.
 
CAREER SCORING
Tonya Stites, 1,920
Olivia Reed Thyne, 1,877
 
The Windsor, Colo. native is now nearing a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference records. Reed Thyne is now just 23 rebounds shy of the conference record for total rebounds which sits at 1,154 set by Nicole Allman of New Mexico Highlands in 1994-98.
 
RMAC CAREER REBOUNDS

1. Nicole Allman (New Mexico Highlands, 1994-98), 1,154
2. Olivia Reed Thyne (Colorado Mesa, 2022-present), 1,131

 
The next record we will get into soon is reaching 2,000 points and the assault on the RMAC career scoring record.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands comes into the game with a 5-6 overall record and 1-3 in conference, but the Cowgirls have outperformed their record. They hold wins over Western Washington, Regis and in-state rival Western New Mexico with narrow losses coming to Simon Fraser, Division I Air Force and Fort Lewis.
 
Head coach Lindsey Fearing has the Cowgirls moving in the right direction after taking over the program on an interim basis two years ago and earning the full-time position prior to last season. Fearing is 18-20 in her one-plus years at the helm.
 
Kapiolani Anitielu is one of the best players in the league as she averages 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season. The Farmington, N.M. native has been in double figures in 10 of the 11 games this season with the lone non-double-digit game coming against No. 8 West Texas A&M. She scored a season-high 24 points against Simon Fraser and Fort Lewis.
 
SCOUTING ADAMS STATE
The Grizzlies enter the weekend one of the top team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a record of 10-4 and a perfect 4-0 in the conference. Adams State was on a six-game winning streak before a loss to Maryville in the final game before the NCAA mandated break.
 
Adams State is headed by Mario Caetano who took over the Grizzlies in 2021 and has done nothing but take them to a new level in Division II women's basketball. He took the Grizzlies to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season a year ago and has compiled an 87-49 record.
 
The duo of Taejhuan Hill and Kiiyani Anitielu lead Adams State this year. Hill averages 14.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while having a season best 31 points and 13 rebounds against New Mexico Highlands on December 11. Anitielu leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game with a season-high coming against Angelo State on November 14.

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 wins 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.
 
COLORADO MESA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-TIME COACHING WINS
Taylor Wagner, 307-91
Steve Kirkham, 299-157
Timi Brown, 58-79
Jack Scott, 49-59
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 continue their stretch of four games in eight days with a split week of a road game on Tuesday and home game on Thursday. They will travel to Gunnison for a matchup with Western Colorado on Tuesday before hosting Westminster on Thursday in Brownson Arena.