Following a six game win streak to close out the regular season, and a lot of math to finally be named the conference’s 1-seed, the women’s basketball team took a devastating loss to the 8-seed Thunderwolves.
The team had the chance to host the rest of the RMAC tournament, but now their fate is out of their hands and they must wait for their NCAA tournament selection to see if their season will continue.
The Mavericks were surprisingly beaten 57-66 by the 8-seeded Colorado State University-Pueblo (CSU-P) Thunderwolves in a game that was much closer in points than the score would indicate. Ultimately, a historic showing from CSU-P forward Alisha Little with a 20 point, 19 rebound and eight block showing proved to be too much for the Mavs to overcome.
“They [CSU-P] came out and played a great defensive game, and they did not want their season to end, and they showed it on every possession,” said Head Coach Taylor Wagner.
Three point shooting wasn’t in the Mavericks’ favor either, as they were held to just 5/25 from beyond the arc. Forward Olivia Reed, who was named RMAC Player of the Year, was also held nearly silent, as she shot just 3-12 on the night and went 0-2 from deep.
“When Olivia got in foul trouble in the second quarter, that’s when they went on their run, when she picked up her fourth foul in the fourth, that’s when they went on their run. She’s valuable to us, and that’s when we needed to step up, but CSU-P had us everywhere,” said Wagner.
The game started in slow fashion, with the first three shots from both teams missing the net. Forward Claire Heitschmidt was the first player from either side to make a shot, hitting on a layup with 8:35 left in the first quarter. It would be another three and a half minutes until another shot was made, as Reed hit a mid range jumper to put the Mavericks up by four. They would enter the second quarter of play up by four, 11-7.
CMU led by as many as six points in the second quarter, but CSU-P quickly responded, taking their first lead of the night with 4:35 left in the half off of a three point shot. The Thunderwolves ended the half with an eight point run, to put themselves up by 11.
The Mavs were able to get the score within one, courtesy of guard Mason Rowland’s jump shot in the early moments of the fourth quarter, despite being behind 20-31 at halftime, but they were never able to get the lead back. The momentum especially seemed to change with just 1:38 left in the game, when Redshirt Senior Guard Laura Gutierrez was able to convert a 4 point play to bring the game within five.
“I felt like we could go on a run at any moment in the second half, but I think defense just killed us. It didn’t matter if Mason [Rowland] got in there, and drew fouls and hit free throws,” said Gutierrez.
Luckily for the Mavericks, their season isn’t over just yet. In the second edition of the South-Central Region Rankings, the Mavs were still ranked second, but the game on March 5 was not factored into the rankings.
The top eight teams in the region make the NCAA tournament with both the RMAC and Lone Star conference champions grabbing automatic bids, along with six at-large selections also getting a nod. CMU was awarded the second seed and will take on Lubbock Christian University, playing the first round in Texas on March 15.
