GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— For the sixth straight season, the Colorado Mesa University women's lacrosse team will take on Regis University in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
For the first time in that span, that game will take place in the semifinal round after the two teams have tangled in the championship game in each of the past five years.
 
The Mavericks hope that change will also alter the result as the Mavericks (6-11, 5-5 RMAC) look to extend season against the Rangers, who have won each of those five title games.
 
Thursday's semifinal between the top-seeded and host Rangers (12-5, 8-2 RMAC), ranked 20^th in the IWLCA's NCAA Division II Poll, and the fourth-seeded Mavericks will begin at 4 p.m. at the Regis Turf Field.
 
The second semifinal between No. 2 seed UCCS and No. 3 seed Westminster will begin at 7 p.m. that evening with the winners facing off in Saturday's championship game at 4 p.m.
 
Tickets and tournament passes can be purchased through the RMAC Championship webpage.
 
All of the games will also be streamed on the RMAC Network, and accessible with a pay-per-view purchase or though previously purchased monthly, seasonal or annual subscriptions.
 
Live statistics for the games will also be accessible at the link above.
 
Last Times Out
 
The Mavericks capped their regular season with a pair of blowout home wins over Fort Lewis and CSU Pueblo.
 
On Friday, the Mavericks put up 18 goals in an 18-6 win over Fort Lewis.  They took an early 7-1 lead and then scored nine straight goals as ten different player scored.  The Mavs finished with a 44-15 advantage in shots and put 30 of those shots on target.
 
Combined with Westminster's win over CSU Pueblo later that evening, the Mavericks clinched a spot in the RMAC Tournament with a game to spare.
 
On Sunday afternoon, the Mavericks then blasted CSU Pueblo on Senior Day.  The Mavs scored a season-high 20 goals and had a season-high 13 assists in the 20-7 victory.  Thirteen different Mavericks scored in the triumph.
 
Milestone Game
 
Maverick seniors Carson Dickey and Olivia Turk both reached career statistical milestones in Friday's win over Fort Lewis.
 
Dickey scored her 100^th career goal in the victory becoming just the sixth Maverick player in program history to ever reach that milestone.
 
Meanwhile, Turk surpassed the century mark for career ground balls, recording three in that game.  She then added three more in the win over CSU Pueblo and now has 104 to rank eighth in program history.
 
Dickey also added two goals against CSU Pueblo and now has 102 career goals.
 
Fellow Maverick senior Justine Anderson, who has missed this season due to injury, also reached the 100-career milestone against Fort Lewis last year and sits fifth in CMU history with 120 career goals.
 
Sadie Scoring
 
Maverick sophomore Sadie Chappuis registered her first two career hat tricks over the weekend, scoring a team-leading seven goals over the weekend.  Normally a defender, the Savage, Minnesota native played in a midfield role and delivered in a big way.
 
She had a career-high four goals against Fort Lewis and then added three against CSU Pueblo to raise her season total to ten.
 
Chappuis also contributed defensively, recording three ground balls and two caused turnovers against Fort Lewis before adding two more caused turnovers and a ground ball against CSU Pueblo.
 
Chappuis was a First Team All-RMAC pick at defense as a freshman and is amongst the team leaders with 34 ground balls, tied for the most of any field player, and 17 caused turnovers, the fourth highest total on the team.
 
We've Done this Before
 
The Mavericks will be making their 12^th straight RMAC Tournament appearance this week.  They have an 8-11 combined record in previous appearances and have won a tournament game in each of the last eight tournaments dating back to 2017.
 
There was no tournament in 2020 due to COVID.
 
They have made the RMAC Tournament Championship game in each of the past five years from 2021-25 in the 4-team format after reaching the semifinals of what was a 6-team tournament in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
 
Current Mavericks Justine Anderson, Carson Dickey, Heather Hawkins and Olivia Turk were all named to the RMAC All-Tournament Team last year.  Anderson and Dickey were also named in 2024.
 
Record Watch
 
Although she was not very busy in the last week's games, CMU sophomore goalkeeper Heather Hawkins made six saves in the Mavs' two games last week, raising her season total to 144., which is just 12 shy of the Mavs' single-season record of 156.
 
Lauren Wells set that record in the Mavs' first ever season in 2011 and then added 137 in year No. 2 of the program in 2012.
 
Hawkins, who made 122 saves en route to RMAC Goalkeeper and Freshman of the Year honors last season, is already fifth in program history with 266 career saves.
 
Wells also holds the career record of 455.
 
Hawkins faced just 21 total shots in last week's games and with wins well in hand, gave way to back-up Sophia Bailey in the fourth quarter of both games as Bailey saw her first game action of the season.
 
Coach's Corner
 
Ashley Delaney is in her third year as the Mavs' head coach and her seventh on the CMU staff after serving as an assistant for the four previous seasons from 2020-23.
 
The Mavs have gone 11-6 in both of Delaney's previous years as a head coach and posted a 33-19 combined record in her four years as an assistant under two previous head coaches. 
 
She was named as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 2025 after leading the Mavs to a share of the RMAC Regular Season Championship and to hosting rights of the RMAC Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
She also helped the Mavs win a share of the RMAC crown in 2023 when she was an assistant coach.  The Mavericks are a combined 61-42 with her on the coaching staff and have played in all five RMAC Tournament Championship games with her on the staff.
 
Counting this year, Delaney now has a 28-23 record as the Mavs' head coach.
 
She and the Mavericks are 1-7 against the Regis in her tenure as the head coach.  They are 2-15 against the Rangers in her time on the sidelines although both of CMU's wins over Regis in program history have come in her tenure.

Know Your Foe
 
The Rangers are ranked 20^th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association NCAA Division II poll and won a share of this year's RMAC title, despite falling 12-11 to UCCS in their final regular season game on Saturday.
 
They are 12-5 overall and went 8-2 in RMAC play to share the top spot in the RMAC standings.  They earned the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for this week's tournament by virtue of a goal-differential tiebreaker over the Mountain Lions in the two head-to-head meetings.
 
They scored a league-leading 224 goals during the regular season and conceded just 159, good for a conference-best 9.35 goals against average.
 
Maggie Schipfer paces the RMAC with 48 goals while Aubrey Benton is second with 46.  Lexie Springman is tied for third with 44 and co-leads the conference alongside Schipfer with 59 total points.
 
Kyla Bieker has 21 assists to pace the Rangers and sits second in the RMAC.
 
Elle Enselman leads the team with 43 draw controls while Krista Munsinger has 40  draw controls and 35 ground balls and 25 caused turnovers as a versatile midfielder. 
 
Freshman Sophia Katnik leads the team in both ground balls (41) and caused turnovers (25).
 
Goalkeeper Brigit Goetsch leads the RMAC with 162 saves and her goals against average of 9.68.  She also has a .516 save percentage to lead the conference.
 
Series Histories
 
The Rangers have dominated the series with the Mavericks, winning 36 of the previous 38 meetings including both of this year's regular season contests by 10-5 and 14-8 margins on Apr. 1 and Apr. 12.
 
The Mavs are 1-19 against the Rangers in Denver but won their during the 2025 regular season.
 
The Rangers have ended CMU's season in each of the last ten years, excluding the 2020 COVID shortened campaign, when they did not play each other.  The last five of those decisions have come in the RMAC Tournament Championship game.
 
The Rangers also ended the Mavs' 2019 campaign in the regional championship game/NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal and defeated the Mavs in the RMAC Tournament semifinals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
 
RMAC Network News
 
All of the RMAC Tournament games will be streamed on the RMAC Network and are included in annual and monthly subscription plans.  Tournament games are also available on a pay-per-day basis for $15 which will allow fans to watch a game on a particular day.
 
For more information or to make a purchase, go to https://rmacnetwork.com/purchase/.
 
Up Next
 
If the Mavericks win Thursday's game they would advance to the RMAC Tournament Championship game for the sixth straight season and would play either No. 2 seed UCCS or No. 3 seed Westminster on Saturday at 4 p.m.  The Mavs dropped tight 8-7 decisions to UCCS in both regular sesaon match-ups.  They split decisions with Westminster, winning 18-6 at home on Apr. 3 in the last meeting.
 
The tournament's winner will receive the RMAC's automatic qualification spot in to the NCAA Division II Tournament, which begins on May 7.