Senior guard Daniella Turner was the key in the Mavericks win tonight, posting 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Turner finished the game shooting 63.2 percent from the field as she was one of the keys for the Mavericks in their victory over the Roadrunners. Turner’s impact was felt on the defensive side of the ball as well as she picked up five steals in the game helping the Mavericks score 29 points off turnovers.
“I definitely wanted to get after it tonight. That’s one thing that I’ve just said to myself, alright defense is what I’m going to bring to the team because then my offense will start rolling from that,” Turner said.
Metro State University-Denver (MSUD) was able to keep the game close in the first quarter with a finish of 19-15. The Roadrunners Jaela Richardson had gotten herself into foul trouble with two quick fouls within the first three minutes of the game.
The Mavericks took over in the second quarter as they shot 70.6 percent to go into halftime with a 16-point lead.
Colorado Mesa University (CMU) outscored MSUD 29-17 in the second quarter, and they carried the momentum the rest of the game, winning 91-57.
Senior forward Sierra McNicol was the Mavericks second-leading scorer at the half with 10 points. She was five for eight from the field and she played 15 minutes and 55 seconds of the first half.
The Maverick’s ball movement and their ball control were key for them taking the lead in the first half. They had assisted on 12 different baskets, but they had only committed four turnovers at halftime.
CMU continued to dominate in the third quarter as well, outscoring the Roadrunners 25-11. Senior guard Kylyn Rigsby was a bright spot for the Mavericks in the third quarter, hitting two threes.
“I was just kind of feeling it, and my teammates always get me hyped up. The hoop kind of gets bigger, one turns to two, turns to three stuff like that. I think this team is really great about giving you confidence,” Rigsby said.
Rigsby contributed on the defensive end as well in the second half as she stole the ball three times from the Roadrunners.
The Mavericks were going into the fourth quarter with a 73-44 lead over the Roadrunners. MSUD was able to cut the lead down to 23 before the Maverick’s starters were back on the floor and the lead jumped back up to 34 points.
All five Maverick starter finished in double-figure points.
The Mavericks offense scored 44 points in the paint, 29 points off of turnovers and scored 22 fast break points. They also outrebounded the Roadrunners by ten which led the Mavericks 18 second-chance points as well.
“Making sure we did not get outrebounded tonight. Generally, they are a big team and physical and we cannot allow extra possessions from the other opponent and give them second-chance points,” Head Coach Taylor Wagner said. “Which I thought we did a great job tonight, only six second-chance points, and last night it was a whole lot more, so the things that we challenged them to do tonight, they really did, and they did it well.”
Redshirt sophomore guard Natalie Bartle came off the bench and scored 14 points and contributed two steals as well.
The Maverick’s next game will be Friday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m. against Black Hills State University in Spearfish, SD.
