DENTON, Texas – It was only fitting that the Region Final came down to a blocked shot. With three seconds on the clock, Texas Woman's Jada Celsur's layup attempt was blocked by Olivia Reed Thyne with Brooke Eyre securing the rebound to hang on and give No. 3 Colorado Mesa a 65-64 win over top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Texas Woman's in the NCAA South Central Regional Championship Game at Kitty Magee Arena.
 
The win propels the Mavericks to the NCAA Elite Eight for the second time in program history. Both appearances came under the direction of head coach Taylor Wagner with the other appearance coming in 2013, Wagner's first season at CMU.
 
Colorado Mesa was the last Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference school to reach the NCAA Elite Eight.
 
The Mavericks improve to 36-1 on the season and have now won 33 straight games, both program records.
 
After a tight first half where the Mavericks led 33-30, the Mavs led by as many as 12 late in the third quarter, outscoring the Pioneers 18-9 in that quarter.
 
Texas Woman's had scored seven straight points to cut the gap to one and had a chance to win.
 
The Mavs held the Pioneers to 33.8 percent (23-68) shooting and held the lead for 25:59 of the game and trailed for only 11:18.
 
After struggling from the free-throw line in the semifinals, the Mavs were also 14-16 from the free throw line as a team.
 
Olivia Reed Thyne played just 4:20 of the first half due to foul trouble but scored 21 of her game-high 23 points in the second half. She also recorded a game-high 14 rebounds to register her fifth straight double-double.
 
Reed Thyne also had five blocks to match a season and career-high, including the game-clincher on TWU's final possession as the Mavs held on for the 1-point win.
 
With the 23 points, Reed Thyne becomes the top single-season point producer in the history of women's basketball in the state of Colorado.  The three-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the year has now scored 825 points in 37 games (22.3 average).  Basketball Hall of Famer Becky Hammon had held the record since the 1998-1999 season when she scored 824 points in 36 games (22.9 average) for Colorado State.
 
Reed Thyne was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Mason Rowland and Hallie Clark.
 
Mason Rowland finished with 16 points while Hallie Clark and Brooke Eyre, who helped cover for Reed Thyne, both had eight. Rowland also had eight rebounds and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line as the Mavs finished with a 45-38 advantage in rebounding.
 
Mykaela Moore also had five points, seven assists and four rebounds.
 
The win by the Mavericks snapped a 30-game winning streak by the Pioneers.
 
The Mavericks will play in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Pittsburgh, Pa. The tournament will be played, beginning on Tuesday (Mar. 24) with the National Championship on Saturday March 28 at 1pm (MDT).
 
Colorado Mesa will find out their national seed and quarterfinal matchup tomorrow at a time yet to be determined.