The Mavericks struggled to find an offensive rhythm as they lost 51-70 to the Orediggers.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) finished the game with 24 turnovers and 12 made shots from the floor.
Ashley Steffeck finished the game with 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals for the Orediggers. Colorado School of Mines (CSM) defense controlled the game as they finished with 12 steals and nine blocks.
The Mavericks to get on the board first and were able to take a 5-2 lead with 7:15 left in the first quarter. That lead was CMU’s last lead of the game.
The Orediggers had built a ten-point lead with 4:02 left in the quarter behind their 52.9% shooting from the floor in the first. The Mavericks ended the first quarter in a similar position as last night as they were down 9-24.
CSM continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal as they had built a 20-point lead with 7:05 left in the second quarter. The Mavericks weren’t going away as they scored seven unanswered points to cut the lead down to 13-points.
The Orediggers were able to get their lead back to 17-points with 29 seconds left in the first half. Senior guard Morgan Myers-Pack was able to get a steal off the inbounds pass with four seconds left, and as she started down the court, she dribbled it off junior guard Monica Brooks’s foot.
Steffeck then took the inbounds pass, raced to the three-point line and nailed a three to give CSM a 20-point lead going into halftime.
The third quarter was an even fight, but the Mavericks couldn’t get CSM’s lead below 20-points leaving them a tall order to deal with in the fourth quarter. CMU outscored CSM 12-11 in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was similar to the third quarter as both teams scored 14 points. Each time the Mavericks were able to get on the board, the Orediggers were quick to answer with buckets of their own.
CMU’s offense was disrupted by the Oredigger’s on-ball defensive pressure and their traps in the corners. CMU’s offense couldn’t seem to adjust to the Oredigger’s defensive pressure and as a result, their offense couldn’t get into a rhythm.
Redshirt sophomore Natalie Bartle finished the game as the Mavericks leading scorer with 16 points.
The Maverick’s next game is Friday, Feb. 26 against Western Colorado University at 5:30 p.m. in Grand Junction, Colo.
