Sports Reporter
Photo by: Stan Schrock
scschroc@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
With 30 seconds remaining, the crowd stood up, and with 10 seconds, the roar of 1,760 fans grew louder and filled the gym, spilling out of Brownson Arena. As the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, Katrina Selsor knew the dream was real.
“This is so special,” said Selsor after leading the women’s basketball team to the RMAC Shootout title with a 60-47 win over Colorado Christian University on Saturday.
“This is why we work so hard, to be in this position,” Selsor said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience towards the end of my last year.”
After losing their only game of the season to CCU in February, Mavs’ coach Taylor Wagner sat the team down and began to list off reasons why the Mavs would not win the RMAC championship.
“The girls looked at me like I was crazy, like, ‘What is this guy talking about,?’” Wagner said. “We needed to fix those things if we wanted to win. We fixed the problems, then I gave them reasons why we will win.”
After falling into an early nine-point deficit, the Mavericks found themselves with new problems. CCU’s B.J. Moyes scored eight of the Cougars’ first 11 points before suffering a concussion just five minutes before halftime.
“We came out playing well and executing how we wanted to,” CCU head coach Tim Hays said. “Losing B.J. before the half was huge, but we are the one team to actually beat [CMU], and I am extremely proud of our team.”
Kelsey Sigl scored three straight layups to give the Mavs their first lead of the game with three minutes remaining in the half. After CCU reclaimed the lead, Bruna Deichmann’s layup tied the game at 27 heading into halftime.
“We knew that [CCU] plays hard, and their defense was frustrating us early,” Sharaya Selsor said. “We had to rely on our training and knew we would eventually go on our run, and we found seams in their defense and took advantage.”
Sigl opened the second half with back-to-back layups as part of a 10-2 run, and the Mavs slowly extended their lead throughout the second half.
Hard work and physical defense has been the Mavs’ driving force throughout the season, and Hays credited CMU’s style of play.
“They were hungrier, and they tracked down loose balls and hustled for more rebounds,” Hays said. “They showed a lot of heart, and that made a difference.”
CCU’s Mariah Metoyer also attributed the Mavs’ rebounding.
“We had them flustered early and wanted to slow them down in transition, but they started to get offensive rebounds, which led to threes,” said Metoyer. “They caught momentum, and it really hurt us.”
That work ethic is something CMU takes pride in, and Katrina knows winning wouldn’t have been possible without the desire to improve.
“We expect a lot out of ourselves. It starts day one in the offseason, and we always try to do things the right way with our best effort,” Katrina said. “When other teams hit a wall, we get stronger towards the end of games, and we pull away.”
After winning the RMAC Shootout as a freshman with CSU-Pueblo, Katrina said this time around is more special, having the chance to win it with her sister.
“I’m so sad this is coming to an end,” said Sharaya, as tears ran down her face. “I’m just so lucky, and I wouldn’t want to have this with anyone else.”
Sharaya and Sigl earned All-RMAC tournament honors, while Katrina was named the tournament’s MVP. Sigl finished the game with 19 points, while both Selsors scored 13, with Sharaya playing the entire game.
“I knew my job was to handle their perimeter player and ignite our defense, so I was ready to play,” Sharaya said. She added with a joking smile towards, Wagner, “And, of course, I was hoping to play a lot of minutes, too.”
Despite the loss, Hays was able to look at the bigger picture and is excited about the future of the Cougars’ program.
“It was our first championship game, and I think sometimes you have to get there first before you figure out how to win one,” said Hays. “We have faith and young talent returning, including last year’s RMAC Player of the Year in Christina Whitelaw, so we are proud and look to keep breaking down barriers.”
Wagner also gave a lot of credit to the CMU fans for their support throughout the season.
“We’ve had great crowds all year long, and as you saw tonight, it was unbelievable,” Wagner said.
The championship win will allow Mesa to host the South Central Regional tournament starting March 15.
“After the game, I just remember being swarmed by everyone else,” said Sigl. “We get to do to it one more week at home.”
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