CMU Women Host UC- Colorado Springs in RMAC Quarterfinals

The Colorado Mesa women's basketball team begins its defense of their RMAC Shootout title tonight when they host UC Colorado Springs in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

The Mavericks are 25-1 on the season after losing their first game of the year in the regular season finale Saturday night  76-70 at Fort Lewis. Still, the Mavs are conference champions and the #1 seed in the RMAC Shootout.

Tonight's match up (7pm at Brownson Arena) is the second time these two teams have met this season. The Mavericks beat UCCS 64-46 in Grand Junction on January 10th.

The Mountain Lions were the pre-season pick to win the RMAC after going 19-8 last season but struggled to finish 13-13 this season by winning their last five games. UCCS boasts the RMAC pre-season player of the year Abbey Kirchoff, averaging over 21 points and six rebounds per game.

Tonight's game will be tough and it should be close. How will the Mavericks respond after losing for the first time this season? What did UCCS learn the first time they played the Mavericks? It would be a surprise if this one doesn't go down to the wire.

While the Mavericks will advance to the NCAA Regional tournament regardless of the outcome of the RMAC Shootout, they still have a chance to be the #1 seed and host the South Central Regional Tournament next week. But, in order to have any chance at all of that, they will need to win three games this week, and quite possibly a re-match with the Fort Lewis Skyhawks.

Tickets for the game are available at the door. You can hear the game on the radio on ESPN Radio 1230 AM, and on line at 1230ESPN.com.