The CMU women’s basketball team advanced to the RMAC Shootout Championship game with a decisive 74-41 win over Regis University in the semifinal Friday night.

While the quarterfinal matchup against UCCS featured four Mavs in double figures, Friday night belonged to Aubrey Boehme. Halfway through the first half she had out scored the entire Rangers squad 14-10. She finished the night with a double-double, leading all scorers with 24 and tied a game high 10 rebounds.

“In the first game they didn’t double and we said that if she wasn’t doubled tonight we would keep feeding her,” Coach Taylor Wagner said. “She shot 10-13. That’s pretty good. When we find her good things happen.”

Though Boehme was the big scorer, defense carried the Mavericks. Mesa turned 13 first half turnovers by the Rangers into 18 points, compared to Regis’ three points off Mesa turnovers.

“I thought we set the tone defensively which lasted the whole game,” Wagner said. “It was fun to see everyone commit and it created success offensively. That has been the case the entire season and I think it will continue to be.”

The defense was on fire, but Regis’ Purdy sisters were not going down without a fight. The pair scored 20 of the Rangers’ 22 at half, but still were down by 13.

Mesa played a physical game. Through 10 minutes the Rangers were already in the bonus shooting free throws.

“I think the physicality of the game is really what affected us,” Regis Coach Linda Raunig said. “It’s a style we don’t necessarily like and it was a pretty physical game.”

Mesa’s defense calmed down and played more sound, and that’s when it became Mesa’s game. Taylor Rock hit a wide-open three causing a second Regis timeout within 90 seconds. Off the in bound pass to follow the break, Christen Lopez stole the pass and no one was even on her half of the court by the time she laid in the fast break score.

“We know we can score when we need to,” Lopez said. “But tonight we needed to come out and play a defensive game.”

The win moves the Mavericks to 27-1 and into the RMAC Championship game tonight in Brownson Arena at 7:30 against Black Hills State.

“[Black Hills] is playing extremely well, they’ve been shooting well, they play defense well,” Wagner said. “They’re riding a good momentum wave. We can’t think about next week, we can’t overlook them.”

brjthomp@mavs.coloradomes.edu