The No. 3 Colorado Mesa women's basketball team has hit the part of the season where it is win or go home as the NCAA South Central Regional begins on Friday at 12pm (11am MDT) as the Mavericks are set to take on sixth-seeded Lubbock Christian in Denton, Texas.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Mavericks were able to complete the undefeated season at home as they defeated UCCS 92-67 in the RMAC Tournament Championship game for their first tournament title since 2019. The Mavericks used a 34-10 fourth quarter including an 11-0 start to the quarter to build the lead and eventually the win.
 
Mason Rowland scored a career-high 35 points and set a program record going 19-for-19 from the free-throw line for consecutive makes without a miss in a game. It was the second-best mark in NCAA Division II history.
 
Olivia Reed Thyne was named the tournament's MVP after scoring 107 (35.7 points per game) points during the tournament. She went for 33 points and 20 rebounds in the final which gave her the single season scoring record in program history with 751 points.
 
REGIONAL HISTORY
Colorado Mesa is making their 10^th NCAA Tournament appearance with nine of those coming during the Taylor Wagner era. This is their third straight appearance and will be taking on Lubbock Christian for the second time in three years.
 
The Mavericks are 7-8 in those 10 appearances with five wins coming in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, the Mavericks made their lone trip to the NCAA Elite Eight that took place in San Antonio, Texas.
 
The Mavericks first tournament appearance came in 2002 when they hosted the North Central Regional in Brownson Arena but fell to a hot shooting South Dakota State team 76-63.
 
30-FOR-30
With their win on Saturday against Black Hills State, the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team won their 30^th game of the season for the third time under the direction of head coach Taylor Wagner. He also led the Mavericks to 30-win seasons in 2012-13 where the Mavericks finished the season in the Elite Eight and in 2013-14 where the season ended in the Sweet Sixteen.
 
With two more wins this season, the Mavericks would set a school record for wins in a season. The most the program has won came during the 2012-13 season when they went 31-2 and won the NCAA South Central Region Tournament.
 
The 2009-10 Fort Lewis Skyhawk team holds the record for wins in the RMAC with 35.
 
MORE HISTORY
Colorado Mesa made more history on Saturday with their win over Black Hills State. The Mavericks became the first team since 1995-96 that finished the RMAC regular season undefeated at 20-0. They become the sixth team in RMAC history to accomplish the feat but the first in 30 years.
 
Nebraska-Kearney (16-0) was the last RMAC school to accomplish the feat along with Fort Hays State (12-0) in 1990-91 and Adams State (16-0) in 1984-85. The Grizzlies accomplished the feat in 1981-82 along with Regis in the same season when they only played divisional opponents and went 8-0.
 
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 274 points to move up to second with only 6 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, 2,347
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, 1,361
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 six active 2,000 point scorers reside in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
 
ACTIVE NCAA DIVISION II SCORING LEADERS

1. Natalie Bremer, Minnesota State, 2,353
2. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2,347
3. Emma Miller, Minnesota-Crookston, 2,235
4. Asher Cai, Central Washington, 2,209
5. Lydia Haack, Concordia, St. Paul, 2,091
6. Caroline Martin, North Georgia, 2,002

SCOUTING LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Lubbock Christian finished fourth in the always competitive Lone Star Conference with a 23-7 overall record and 15-5 in the conference. They fell in the Lone Star Conference tournament to Eastern New Mexico (62-59 OT) who enters the regional as the No. 8 seed.
 
The Chaps are headed by legendary coach Steve Gomez in his 22^nd year. Gomez has a career record of 560-151 and has won three NCAA Division II titles (2016, 2019, 2021) during his tenure. They won the 2016 National Championship in their first NCAA season after transitioning from NAIA.

Kennedy Chappell makes the Lady Chaps go as she averages 15.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. The 5-9, junior guard from Heath, Texas, had a season-high 27 points early in the season against Southern Arkansas. For a comparable, she had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists against UCCS on December 16.

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, 327-91
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, 243
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. Taylor Wagner, Colorado Mesa, 2012-current, 327
2. Linda Raunig, Regis, 1996-15, 323
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, 252

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
 
UP NEXT
With a win, the Mavericks move on to the Regional Semifinals on Saturday night at 5pm (4pm MDT) from Kitty Magee Arena against the winner of West Texas A&M and UT Tyler.
 
A loss would end the season for the Mavericks.