Taylor Wagner told the Colorado Mesa women's basketball team to be prepared for a battle Friday night against Fort Lewis in Durango.
And for the first 20 minutes, the Skyhawks put up a fight before the Mavericks (7-11, 6-6 RMAC) pulled away for a 61-48 victory, their fifth in the past six games.
When freshman forward Olivia Reed picked up two fouls in a 17-second span late in the first quarter, the Mavericks were up only four points. The Mavs' leading scorer and rebounder headed to the bench for the final 13:38 of the first half, but CMU never let the Skyhawks go on any kind of scoring run and had a three-point lead at the half, 29-26.
The Mavericks, who did not trail in the game, seized control in the third quarter. They scored the first six points to push the lead to nine in the first two minutes. Tia Slade, who finished with six points, hit a jumper and Jamisyn Heaton and Reed made back-to-back layups.
Reed, who scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the second half, added another layup and a jumper and Heaton a second-chance 3-pointer and the Mavericks were up 14 midway through the quarter.
They outscored Fort Lewis 19-6 in the quarter to lead 48-32 entering the final 10 minutes.
Mesa, which shot 45.3% from the field but made only two 3-pointers the entire night, led by as many as 18 points a couple of times in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Mesa dominated — the Skyhawks (6-11, 3-8) shot only 26.4% from the field and made only one field goal in the first quarter (in 12 attempts) and two in the third (in 15 attempts).
With Monica Brooks and Slade grabbing nine rebounds each, CMU had a 12-rebound advantage on the boards and outscored Fort Lewis 34-20 in the paint. Brooks scored nine points and Heaton and Megan Pohs seven each. Kylie Kravig added to her RMAC-leading assist total with six, one more than Fort Lewis' entire team, giving her 87, an average of 4.8 per game.
Earlier Friday, CMU coach Taylor Wagner announced the signing of a post player for next season, Brooke Eyre, a senior at Timpview High School in Provo, Utah.
Eyre is a 6-foot-1 forward who is averaging 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds a game this season, with a season-high 16 points earlier this month. She's had 10 or more rebounds four times so far this season for Timpview.
“She is a very intelligent player that will help us at the post position. She does all the little things right," Wagner said in a release announcing the signing. "She fits our program with her high academics and high character. She makes everyone better when she is on the floor.”
