Box Score GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Nearly four minutes into the second half, the Western New Mexico University women's basketball team held a one-point lead against the No. 25 Colorado Mesa University Mavericks before the Mavs turned the game over the next few minutes to defeat the Lady Mustangs, 63-50, Friday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action inside Brownson Arena.


Western New Mexico University (WNMU) held tough throughout against the undefeated and No. 25 ranked Mavs. After falling behind 4-0 early, WNMU (1-6, 0-3 RMAC) reeled off a 7-0 run with Heather Hamilton (Ely, NV/White Pine High School) and Morgan Wohltman (Queen Creek, AZ/Highland High School) tallying baskets in front of a three by Kassie Scott (El Paso, TX/Coronado High School) for the 7-4 lead at the 16:02 mark of the first half.


Scott posted a jumper three minutes later to break a 9-all tie to once again push the Lady Mustangs in front, 11-9. WNMU continued with the run, with Desiree Young (North Ogden, UT/Weber High School) connecting on a three on the next possession for a five-point lead. The lead would get as high as six, 17-11, at the midway point of the half thanks to a trey from Veronica Celaya (Chandler, AZ/Williams Field High School).


The teams would continue to trade the lead, as after Colorado Mesa University (CMU) came back to take the lead by as much as four near the end of the half, WNMU came back with a three from Scott and a jumper by Wohltman to go the back in front at 26-25, with two minutes to go in the half.


CMU (7-0, 3-0 RMAC) outscored WNMU by two down the stretch to take a 29-28 lead into the locker room.


The first half featured five ties and 10 lead changes.


The Lady Mustangs continued with the intensity in the second half, coming back from an early three-point deficit to tie the game at 33 on a three from Wohltman and later another one-point lead on a free throw from Hamilton.


A Wohltman jumper at the 16:11 mark gave WNMU another lead at 36-35 when the Mavs would answer in a big way.


CMU went on a 10-0 run to take a nine-point lead at 45-36 at the midway point of the second stanza.


The Lady Mustangs would get the deficit down to six a couple of times, including at the 4:26 mark on a jumper by Hamilton to make it 51-45, but CMU wasn't to be denied closing the game on a 12-5 run for the victory.


Both teams shot under 40 percent, with CMU tallying a 37.3 percentage (19-51) to a 32.8 effort for WNMU (20-61). CMU held the advantage in three-pointers (8-6) and free throws (17-4).


Four Lady Mustangs scored in double-figures led by 12 apiece from Hamilton and Scott. Wohltman added 11 and Celaya came off the bench with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.


Kelsey Sigl led the Mavs and all-scorers with 17 points.


WNMU will turn around and play at Western State in Gunnison, Colo., Saturday night with game time set for 5:30 p.m. New Mexico Highlands edged Western State, 67-65, Friday night.

 
COLORADO MESA 63, WESTERN NEW MEXICO 50
WESTERN NEW MEXICO (1-6, 0-3 RMAC)
Heather Hamilton (Ely, NV/White Pine High School) 4-10 4-6 12; Kassie Scott (El Paso, TX/Coronado High School) 5-13 0-0 12; Morgan Wohltman (Queen Creek, AZ/Highland High School) 5-24
0-0 11; Veronica Celaya (Chandler, AZ/Williams Field High School) 4-6 0-0 10; Desiree Young (North Ogden, UT/Weber High School) 1-3 0-0 3; Kim Clark (Santee, CA/West Hills High School) 1-2
0-0 2; Sasha Montez (Waianae, HI/Nanakuli High School) 0-0 0-0 0; Larissa Loera (Mira Loma, CA/Jurupa Valley High School) 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 4-6 50.
COLORADO MESA (7-0, 3-0 RMAC)
Kelsey Sigl 7-14 1-2 17; Katrina Selsor 3-6 8-10 16; Bruna Deichmann 4-8 6-8
14; Sharaya Selsor 4-12 1-2 13; Effo Baker 1-3 0-0 2; Christen Lopez 0-2 1-2
1; Hanna Bowden 0-1 0-0 0; Leanndra Gilbert 0-2 0-0 0; Rachelle Litsheim 0-1
0-0 0; Laurel Kasel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 17-24 63.
Western New Mexico............   28   22  -   50
Colorado Mesa.................   29   34  -   63
3-point goals--Western New Mexico 6-19 (Kassie Scott (El Paso, TX/Coronado High School) 2-7; Veronica Celaya (Chandler, AZ/Williams Field High School)
2-2; Desiree Young (North Ogden, UT/Weber High School) 1-3; Morgan Wohltman (Queen Creek, AZ/Highland High School) 1-7), Colorado Mesa 8-22 (Sharaya
Selsor 4-8; Katrina Selsor 2-4; Kelsey Sigl 2-4; Christen Lopez 0-1;
Leanndra Gilbert 0-1; Rachelle Litsheim 0-1; Laurel Kasel 0-1; Bruna
Deichmann 0-2). Fouled out--Western New Mexico-None, Colorado Mesa-Kelsey
Sigl. Rebounds--Western New Mexico 30 (Veronica Celaya (Chandler, AZ/Williams Field High School) 7), Colorado Mesa 49
(Sharaya Selsor 8; Kelsey Sigl 8). Assists--Western New Mexico 14 (Larissa
Loera 5), Colorado Mesa 14 (Bruna Deichmann 4). Total fouls--Western New
Mexico 17, Colorado Mesa 14. Technical fouls--Western New Mexico-None,
Colorado Mesa-None. A-612