The No. 4 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will head out on the road for the final games of the regular season. They will travel to South Dakota for a matchup with South Dakota Mines on Thursday and cap the regular season with a bout against Black Hills State on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks swept the split week as they won on the road at Westminster on Tuesday and then defeated rival Western Colorado in Brownson Arena on Saturday.
 
Colorado Mesa blitzed Westminster from the opening tip as they raced out to a 30-9 lead after the first period and went on to win 90-47. Five players reached double figures in scoring led by Mason Rowland's 21 points followed by Olivia Reed Thyen (16), Mykaela Moore (14), Cayden King (13) and Hallie Clark (12).
 
On Saturday, both teams started the game off slow with Colorado Mesa leading 24-19 at halftime. The Mavericks were able to break out in the second half as they outscored the Mountaineers 49-22 in the second half in a 73-41 win. Reed Thyne finished the game with 22 points while Rowland finished with 21.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKING
Colorado Mesa has been on a winning streak nearly the entire season. The lone loss of the season came in game four of the season then they rattled off 25 straight wins to claim the RMAC Regular Season Championship. Their 35 straight RMAC wins are believed to be a conference record for most consecutive conference games won dating back to the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
 
The 25-game winning streak is the longest in NCAA Division II after Minnesota State lost by 21 points to Concordia-St. Paul ending the Mavericks 27-game winning streak.
 
The 25-game winning streak is also the third longest among all NCAA schools behind New York University's (NYU) 86-game winning streak and UCONN's 45-game winning streak.  
 
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
Redshirt sophomore Mason Rowland eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone in just her second full season with the Mavericks. With 1:24 left in the third quarter against Western Colorado, Rowland made a basket pushing her through the threshold.
 
She now has 1,010 career points and is the 22^nd player in program history to reach 1,000 points in her career. She ranks 21^st in program history in career points.
 
HOW HIGH CAN SHE GO
Olivia Reed Thyne has broken records left and right this season but the biggest question remaining is how high on some of these lists can she go. The Colorado All-Time marks are what's left and the scoring one may be out of reach at this point as she needs over 400 points to move up to second with only 11 possible games left in her career. Despite the records that have been broken, the goal remains the same…win.
 
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. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2022-present, 2,195
4. Brittany Spear, Colorado, 2007-11, 2,185
5. McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State, 2020-24, 2,162 

COLORADO ALL-TIME REBOUNDING LIST

1. Alisha Little, CSU Pueblo/Northern Colorado, 2019-25, 1,382
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2022-present, 1,300
3. Zoe Tomlinson, Colorado College, 2021-25, 1,281
4. Holly Roberts, MSU Denver, 1989-93, 1,267
5. Dominique Skeehan, Adams State, 1981-85, 1,256

A new list to look at is the active career points leaders in all of NCAA. Three of the five active 2,000 point scorers reside in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
 
ACTIVE NCAA DIVISION II SCORING LEADERS

1. Natalie Bremer, Minnesota State, 2,275
2. Emma Miller, Minnesota-Crookston, 2,210
3. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2,195
4. Asher Cai, Central Washington, 2,172
5. Lydia Haack, Concordia, St. Paul, 2,038

SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The Hardrockers will play out the season this weekend and head into the offseason beginning on Sunday. They still should not be overlooked as they have wins over Black Hills State and MSU Denver on their resume, both of whom will be playing past this weekend.
 
South Dakota Mines is in their first year under head coach Kyley Bachand who previously was the head coach at William Jewell. She has led them to a 9-17 record which eclipsed last season's win total.
 
 Savea Mansfield and Morning Grace Spotted Bear are two players the Hardrockers look to get going in the game. Mansfield averages 16 points which includes a 32-point game against Mines and a 30-point game against Black Hills. Spotted Bear averages 12.6 points and nearly seven rebounds per game and is currently on a three game streak of double digit games.
 
SCOUTING BLACK HILLS STATE
Not to look past South Dakota Mines, but Black Hills State could be the biggest threat to Colorado Mesa's undefeated RMAC season and they would like nothing more to ruin that and pick up a signature win for their NCAA resume. The Yellowjackets are looking for a top-4 seed at the RMAC Tournament and are currently tied with UCCS for the No. 3 seed.
 
Kelli Kruger leads the Yellowjackets on an interim basis but has done an outstanding job leading them this year. Kruger is 436-346 in his 28 seasons leading programs across NAIA, NJCAA, and NCAA Division II including a seven-year stint at Adams State.
 
Bradie Schlabs may be one of the most underrated players in the RMAC. She averages 10.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game this season to lead Black Hills State. She had 23 points last week in the big win over Adams State in Alamosa.

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.
 
COLORADO MESA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-TIME COACHING WINS
Taylor Wagner, 322-91
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, 240
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, 322
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, 251

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 host the No. 8 seed in the RMAC Tournament on Tuesday at 5:30pm. If the Mavericks are victorious, they will host the semifinals and championship game of the RMAC Tournament later in the week.