Led by Olivia Reed, the reigning Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference player of the year, Colorado Mesa will be hosting the final three games of the league’s post-season after the Mavericks posted a 72-46 win over New Mexico Highlands in a quarterfinal contest at Grand Junction on Tuesday.
Reed scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the top-seeded Mavericks coasted to their 17th straight win and improved their home mark to 11-1 this season. Mesa is 24-4 and ranked 21st nationally in the latest Women’s Basketball Association poll after the Mavericks clinched the RMAC regular-season title with an 18-2 mark.
Colorado Mesa will host fourth-seeded Black Hills State (13-7, 18-10) in the first RMAC semi-final on Friday in Grand Junction as the Yellow Jackets outscored CSU Pueblo 29-10 in the third quarter en route to an 82-56 victory over the ThunderWolves in Spearfish, S. D.
U Pueblo (13-7, 18-11) played the 23 minutes of the 40-minute game without Alisha Little, the nation’s second-leading scorer (24.93), No. 7 rebounder (11.45) and No. 2 in blocked shots (3.59) in NCAA Division II, after the school’s all-time leading scorer exited the contest with 6:46 left in the second quarter with a broken nose.
“That was the game changer,” CSUP coach Tommie Johnson said after the game about Little’s departure. “It was an emotional locker room after the game, especially for Alisha. She is a person of faith, and I am so grateful to have coached her for the past four years.”
Little scored eight points, grabbed five rebounds, and blocked one shot when she exited when Kalla Bertram was charged with a flagrant foul on the play that forced Little to the sideline and the Pack leading 19-18. Landri Hudson made two free throws subbing for Little at the charity stripe to give CSUP a 21-18 lead.
Friday’s other semi-final in Grand Junction will have second-seeded Western Colorado meeting sixth-seeded UC Colorado Springs. Western Colorado (15-5, 21-7) eliminated two-time defending RMAC post-season champion Regis (11-9, 13-15) with a 67-51 victory in Gunnison.
Sixth-seeded UCCS (12-8, 17-11) posted the 22nd RMAC quarter-final win by a road team since 1993 as the Mountain Lions posted a 63-60 win over third-seeded Adams State (14-6, 19-11) in Alamosa.
