The No. 3, and third-seeded, Colorado Mesa women's basketball team will face-off with the sixth-seeded Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at 10:00 AM (MDT) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for the NCAA Elite Eight. UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse will host both men's and women's side of the Elite Eight and is home to the Duquesne Dukes basketball programs.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Colorado Mesa defeated No. 1 ranked and top-seeded Texas Woman's 65-64 at the home of the Pioneers in Kitty Magee Arena to claim the South Central Region Championship for the second time in program history.
 
The Mavericks led by as many as 12 points at the end of the third quarter but had to hold on late for the one-point win. South Central Region Tournament MVP Olivia Reed Thyne finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds for her 22^nd double-double of the season (65^th of her career).
 
Teammate Mason Rowland, an All-Tournament team recipient, finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT 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 in the NCAA Tournament and first trip to the Elite Eight since 2013.
 
The Mavericks are 10-8 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. That season, Colorado Mesa made their first appearance in the Sweet 16 and defeated Lone Star Conference foe Midwestern State 69-65 in front of over 1,900 fans in Brownson Arena (Grand Junction, Colo.)
 
Regional Championship Results for Colorado Mesa
March 18, 2013: Colorado Mesa 69, Midwestern State 65 (Grand Junction, Colo.)
March 17, 2014: West Texas A&M 59, Colorado Mesa 56 (Canyon, Texas)
March 16, 2026: Colorado Mesa 65, Texas Woman's 64 (Denton, Texas)
 
NCAA National Quarterfinal Results for Colorado Mesa
March 26, 2013: Dowling (N.Y.) 60, Colorado Mesa 44 (San Antonio, Texas)
 
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.
 
The Mavericks now have won a school record 36 games eclipsing the 32 wins set by the 2012-13 team. They also won 31 games during the 2013-14 season that ended in the the Sweet Sixteen.
 
Colorado Mesa now holds the record for wins in a season for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference topping the 2009-10 Fort Lewis Skyhawk team who held the record for wins in the RMAC with 35.
 
MORE HISTORY
Colorado Mesa made more history on Saturday (February 28) 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.
 
ORT LISTS
Olivia Reed Thyne has had not only a season for the ages but a career for the ages. She is the all-time scoring and rebounding leader in both the RMAC and at Colorado Mesa. Below are the record tables for the State of Colorado Collegiate Records along with the active scoring leaders in NCAA Division II:
 
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, 2,421
4. Brittany Spear, Colorado, 2007-11, 2,185
5. McKenna Hofschild, Colorado State, 2020-24, 2,162

 
COLORADO SINGLE SEASON SCORING LIST

1. 825, Olivia Reed, Colorado Mesa, 2025-2026
2. 824, Becky Hammon, Colorado State, 1998-1999
3. 750, Sharaya Selsor, Colorado Mesa, 2013-2014
4. 723, Alisha Davis Little, CSU Pueblo, 2024-2025
5. 708, Savannah Smith, Northern Colorado, 2018-2019

 
COLORADO ALL-TIME REBOUNDING LIST

1. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2022-present, 1,402
2. Alisha Little, CSU Pueblo/Northern Colorado, 2019-25, 1,382
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

 
ACTIVE NCAA DIVISION II SCORING LEADERS

1. Olivia Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa, 2,421
2. Natalie Bremer, Minnesota State, 2,371
3. Asher Cai, Central Washington, 2,257
4. Emma Miller, Minnesota-Crookston, 2,235
5. Lydia Haack, Concordia, St. Paul, 2,127

SCOUTING MINNESOTA-DULUTH
Minnesota-Duluth may be one of the hottest teams entering the tournament. They began their march to the Elite Eight as the No. 8 seed in the Central Region. They took out No. 1 seed and rival Minnesota State 72-63 on the Mavericks home floor. They followed that up with a lopsided win over Central Missouri 81-48 and then defeated Concordia-St. Paul 94-87 in the region final.
 
The Bulldogs are led by head coach Mandy Pearson in her 11^th season in Duluth. She led the Bulldogs to the NCAA National Championship game during the 2022-23 season. She is 208-104 in her time at UMD and 310-210 in her entire 19-year head coaching career.
 
Myra Moorjani leads a trio of Bulldogs that average over 10 points per game. Moorjani averages 13.7 points per game and shoots over 37 percent from beyond the arc. She had 21 points in the Central Region Championship win over Concordia-St. Paul.
 
6-2 forward Lexi Karge will likely draw the straw to guard Olivia Reed Thyne and averages 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. She had double-digits in all three games of the regional including three blocks in the Bulldogs win over Central Missouri.

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 nine total NCAA Tournament appearances ('13, '14, '15, '19, '20, '22, '24, '25, '26).
 
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, 330-91
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, 330
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 Collegiate Women's Basketball Coaching Records

1. Taylor Wagner, Otero JC / Colorado Mesa, 2005-present, 517-154
2. Ceal Berry, Colorado, 1983-2004, 427-242
3. Linda Raunig, Regis, 1990-2015, 404-296
4. Steve Kirkham, Colorado Mesa / UCCS, 1988-2004, 305-177
5. Ryun Williams, Colorado State, 2012-present, 281-156

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 would reach the NCAA National Semifinals for the first time in program history. The National Semifinal would be played on Thursday March 26 at a time yet to be determined.
 
A loss would end the season in the Elite Eight for the second time in program history.