The Mavericks suffered their first home loss of the season as the Orediggers won 58-50 in Brownson Arena.
Senior guard Kylyn Rigsby scored a game-high 15 points and shot four of nine from the floor.
Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) offense struggled to get things going in the game as they shot 30 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard Natalie Bartle shot four for 19 and scored 14 points in the game.
The Orediggers won the rebounding battle 48 to 34 over the Mavericks in the game. Colorado School of Mines also had an 18 to nine advantage on the offensive glass over CMU.
“We got to play with a little bit more heart, I don’t think that we were inspired at all tonight except for that second quarter, and we have to come out and compete every possession,” Head Coach Taylor Wagner said.
The Mavericks won the tip and Bartle committed an over-and-back violation. Sammy Van Sickle took advantage of the opportunity and made a layup and a three as the Orediggers took a 5-0 lead.
CSM got into the paint at will in the first quarter and they either converted the layup or drew the foul. The Orediggers got three different Mavericks to pick up two fouls, forcing them out of the game.
CSM took a 16-9 lead behind their free throw shooting as they were seven of eight from the charity stripe.
The Orediggers fended off the Mavericks for six minutes in the second quarter and they had built a 16-point lead with 4:26 left in the half. CMU caught fire from behind the arc and Rigsby started it as she made a three-pointer with 4:04 left in the half.
Bartle continued the trend with a three from the left and right-wing against Liz Holter. Both times, Bartle caught the ball, pump-faked a shot and took one hard dribble to her left which was followed by a step back and she buried the shot.
CMU made four shots from behind the arc and a free throw as the Mavericks cut CSM’s lead to three points going into halftime.
The Orediggers won the rebounding battle 25 to 15 over the Mavericks in the first half.
Both teams started out trading shots in the opening six minutes of the third quarter. The Orediggers finished the quarter on a nine to zero run which gave them a 12-point lead.
The Mavericks battled in the fourth quarter to try and cut the Orediggers lead under double digits. Senior guard Morgan Myers-Pack did just that as she jumped a passing lane and stormed down the court to convert the layup and cut the lead to eight points.
CSM was able to prevent CMU from cutting into their lead anymore as they won the game by eight points. The Orediggers scored 32 points in the paint against CMU as they got into the paint at will in the game.
Van Sickle ended the game with 13 points, and she grabbed eight rebounds in the game.
“That’s the thing with her, she can go and do a little bit of both, and she was able to go in there and use her size a little bit on some of our smaller players. I know she had three baskets with her back to the basket and just made good moves and shot over the top of our girls,” Wagner said.
The Mavericks finished the game with a season-high 20 turnovers and shot 15 of 50 from the floor against the Orediggers.
CMU’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 23 at 5:30 p.m. against Regis University in Brownson Arena.
