GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The No. 4 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team extended their win streak to 23 games and secured a home playoff game after defeating the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls 72-51 on Saturday (Feb. 14) afternoon in Brownson Arena.
With the win, Colorado Mesa (26-1, 16-0 RMAC) is guaranteed a home Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament game on Tuesday, March 3. They are also 11-0 at home on the season and have now won 33 consecutive RMAC games.
The Mavericks led by as many as 29 points early in the fourth quarter after
Brooke Harding's bucket with 8:35 remaining in the game at 61-32. They outscored the Cowgirls 26-13 in the first quarter and 21-6 in the third quarter while Highlands claimed the second and fourth quarters by a small margin.
Rebounding was a major factor in the game as the Mavericks outrebounded Highlands 53-24 including 21 offensive rebounds that led to 12 second chance points. The Cowgirls only had three offensive rebounds and two second chance points.
Olivia Reed Thyne may not have had a record-breaking evening but moved up on some of the top lists in the state (all divisions) after scoring 26 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. It was her 56
th double-double of her career as she shot 11-for-16 from the field.
Reed Thyne now has 1,270 rebounds in her career and moved up two spots to third in Colorado Collegiate history after today's game. She also has 2,157 career points to rank fifth on the same list.
Redshirt sophomore
Mason Rowland had a stat stuffing game as she finished with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Senior
Mykaela Moore finished with seven points and nine rebounds.
New Mexico Highlands (10-13, 6-10 RMAC) was led by Aniya Johnson who had 14 points and Brynn Hargrove who had 13 points off the bench.
The Mavericks will have a split week coming up including the final home game of the regular season. They will play at Westminster on Tuesday before returning home for a showdown with Western Colorado on Saturday in Brownson Arena.
