The No. 4 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team returns home this week to take on rival Fort Lewis on Thursday before a showdown with New Mexico Highlands on Saturday afternoon in Brownson Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks won a pair of games over on the Front Range by an average margin of 30.5 points. They defeated MSU Denver last Thursday in downtown Denver by a score of 78-48 behind the 29 points and 16 rebound efforts of Olivia Reed Thyne. Colorado Mesa outscored the Roadrunners 36-14 in the first quarter and 13-5 in the second and coasted from there.
 
On Saturday, Reed Thyne scored 29 points to lead the Mavericks to a 67-36 win over Regis in Denver. The Maverick defense limited the Rangers to single-digit scoring efforts in three of the four quarters while Mason Rowland added a 15-point, 11 rebound double-double.

STANDINGS WATCH
With the two wins last weekend in Denver, Colorado Mesa has officially earned a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament as they can finish no worse than eighth place at this point of the season.
 
With a pair of wins at home this weekend, the Mavericks would clinch a top-4 finish and a RMAC Tournament home game in the Tuesday quarterfinal matchups.
 
We are still a long way from a magic number for the RMAC Regular Season Title as Adams State has been on a similar tear as the Mavericks with their lone league loss still that 40-point defeat against the Mavericks.
 
NEARING A MILESTONE
Redshirt sophomore Mason Rowland is nearing a milestone of her own coming down the home stretch of the season. The Durango, Colo. native is 62 points shy of reaching 1,000 points in her career. Rowland has scored in double figures in 24 of the 25 games she has played this season.
 
If Rowland gets her average in the remaining games, she would be on pace to net 1,000 points next Saturday at home against Western Colorado in Brownson Arena.
 
TO THE TOP
One of the final record Olivia Reed Thyne was in the hunt for fell this weekend as she eclipsed 2,000 points in her career and became the RMAC All-Time leading scorer all in one game. The Windsor, Colo. native eclipsed the 2,000-point milestone in the third quarter with 1:45 left on a layup with an and-1 to make it 45-33.
 
The RMAC record-breaking point came in the in the fourth quarter on a free-throw with 8:55 to play in the game which put Reed Thyne at 2,003 total points in her career. She became the first women's basketball player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career which has been spent entirely in the RMAC.
 
Olivia moved up one spot on the Centennial State list and now ranks seventh all-time in collegiate scorers in Colorado. The list is headed by the legendary Becky Hammon who had 2,740 points for the Rams of Colorado State in the late 90s.
 
COLORADO ALL-TIME SCORING LIST

1. Becky Hammon, Colorado State, 1995-99, 2,740
2. Alisha Little, CSU Pueblo/Northern Colorado, 2019-25, 2,621
3. Brittany Spear, Colorado, 2007-11, 2,185
4. McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State, 2020-24, 2,162
5. Loma Kollmeyer, Colorado College, 1976-80, 2,109
6. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2022-present, 2,106
7. Lisa VanGoor, Colorado, 1980-85, 2,067
8. Savannah Smith, Northern Colorado, 2014-19, 2,013

A new list to look at is the active career points leaders in all of NCAA.
 
ACTIVE NCAA DIVISION II SCORING LEADERS

1. Natalie Bremer, Minnesota State, 2,177
2. Emma Miller, Minnesota-Crookston, 2,121
3. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2,106
4. Asher Cai, Central Washington, 2,077

SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
The Skyhawks come into the week with a 14-8 record on the season and 7-7 in the conference. They are in a tie with Colorado School of Mines for the eighth and final spot for the RMAC Tournament. They have a signature non-conference win over UT Tyler and in the conference, they swept the season series with New Mexico Highlands and have a win over Colorado School of Mines
 
Katie Lamb and Makaya Porter average in double figures for the Skyhawks. Lamb averages a team-high 12.8 points and is coming off her season-high of 23 against New Mexico Highlands last week. Porter averages 11.8 points and went for 24 points against Colorado School of Mines on January 29.
 
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowgirls are one game back of both Fort Lewis and Colorado School of Mines in the conference standings. They have a big non-conference win over Western Washington (as do the Mavericks) and gave Colorado Mesa their closest game of the season, a 69-68 game in Las Vegas.
 
Kapiolani Anitelu is one of the top players in the conference and is averaging over 16 points and six rebounds per game. She has been in double figures each time she has played this season but hasn't seen the floor since January 22.
 
If she is unable to go, expect her sister Kamalani to have a bigger role. She has been in double figures in four of the five games since January 22.

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, 318-91
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).
 
THE DEAN OF THE RMAC
Colorado Mesa head coach Taylor Wagner not only surpassed 300 wins in his career this season, but he became the RMAC's all-time wins leader within the conference. Wagner passed legendary Regis Head Coach Linda Raunig for career RMAC wins when he passed her 226 RMAC wins on January 10 with the 89-49 win over Adams State in Alamosa.
 
Below are a pair of lists detailing where Wagner sits in the hierarchy of RMAC women's basketball coaches:
 
Career RMAC Wins

1. Taylor Wagner, Colorado Mesa, 2012-current, 236
2. Linda Raunig, Regis, 1996-2015, 226
3. Tanya Haave, MSU Denver, 2010-25, 213
4. Steve Kirkham, Colorado Mesa/UCCS, 1988-04, 10, 179
5. Kip Drown, CSU Pueblo, 2005-15, 141

Career Wins while in the RMAC

1. Linda Raunig, Regis, 1996-15, 323
2. Taylor Wagner, Colorado Mesa, 2012-current, 318
3. Steve Kirkham, Colorado Mesa/UCCS, 1988-04,10, 305
4. Tanya Haave, MSU Denver, 2010-25, 288
5. Brittany Simpson, Colorado School of Mines, 2012-current, 249

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
Colorado Mesa will have the split away home week next week. On Tuesday, they will be at Westminster in Salt Lake City before returning home on Saturday for Senior Day.