COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament field is set and Regis leads the way as the tournament’s No. 1 seed following Saturday’s regular-season finale. The Rangers captured RMAC regular-season title outright for the first time since the 2006-07 season. As the tournament’s top seed, a win at home in the opening round for Regis would allow the Rangers to host the semifinal and championship rounds.
The Rangers gained sole custody of the RMAC regular-season title after closing out their conference schedule with a 19-3 record, following a 66-46 road win over Colorado State University Pueblo on Saturday. Head coach Molly Marrin leads her squad to the regular-season title as a coach after delivering the program’s first RMAC title as a player in the 2002-03 season. After earning the first RMAC championship in 16 seasons, the Rangers will have the opportunity to complete the title sweep and will begin a postseason run on Tuesday, Feb. 28, with a rematch at home against the ThunderWolves. Game time against the Pack is slated for 6 p.m. MT inside Regis Field House in Denver, Colo.
Colorado School of Mines locked up the No. 2 seed after concluding the regular season with an 18-4 record. The Orediggers stand atop the latest NCAA Division II South Central rankings and will bring a high-powered offense, along with a stingy defense, into the postseason. Mines will look to secure a spot in the NCAA DII South Central Championship beginning with its quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday at home against Colorado Mesa. Opening tip against the Mavericks is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colo.
Black Hills State secured the No. 3 seed in the RMAC Women’s Basketball Tournament after rounding out the regular season with a 17-5 conference record. The Yellow Jackets’ defense has been a point of contention all season as the squad leads the RMAC and ranks 24th in the nation for scoring defense (56.9). BHSU carries a five-game win streak into postseason play and will look to extend that mark with a rubber match against Metropolitan State University of Denver on Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m. inside Donald E. Young Center in Spearfish, S.D.
Adams State secured the No. 4 seed at the upcoming RMAC Tournament after closing the regular season with a 16-6 conference record, marking the best finish by the Grizzlies since the early 2000s. Head coach Mario Caetano has his Grizzlies hungry for a title after stacking wins in seven of their final eight contests, including a victory over a nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines program. The Grizzlies boast a rowdy defensive scheme that leads the RMAC and ranks fifth in the nation for turnover margin (8.8) and sixth in the country for turnovers forced per game (23.5). Adams State will host fifth-seeded Westminster Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside Plachy Hall in Alamosa, Colo.
Westminster captures the fifth seed with a 15-7 mark in conference play, marking its fifth consecutive RMAC Tournament appearance. The Griffins closed out the regular season with an 8-1 record over their final nine games to clinch the No. 5 seed. Westminster has shown no fear against its opposition throughout the year and does so with an explosive offense that ranks 14th in NCAA DII with a 45.8-percent team field-goal average.
MSU Denver earns the tournament’s No. 6 seed after closing its RMAC schedule with a 13-9 conference record. The Roadrunners are led by sophomore guard Kendra Parra, who ranks among the nation’s top 25 in multiple categories, including fifth for made free throws (150) and 25th in the country with 18.8 points per game. After a strong outing throughout February, MSU Denver will look to add to its 5 wins for the month with Tuesday’s opening-round game at Black Hills State.
Despite a slow start to the season, Colorado Mesa clawed its way into the postseason with a strong finish that saw the Mavericks secure a 12-10 conference record. The Mavs closed the regular season with wins in six of their final seven games and did so with a defense that allowed just 52.9 points per game, just over six points shy of their season average. Colorado Mesa is an extremely young team with tremendous upside behind Olivia Reed, who ranks first in the RMAC and seventh nationally with a 61.6 field-goal average.
CSU Pueblo rounds out the tournament field as the No. 8 seed after concluding RMAC play with an 11-11 mark. The Pack is led by JaNaiya Davis who has stacked up 63 steals on the year to lead a defense that forces 14.2 turnovers per game. CSU Pueblo will have the opportunity to avenge a pair of losses to the Rangers with Tuesday’s quarterfinal matchup on the road.
The top four seeds at the 2023 RMAC Women’s Basketball Tournament will host their respective quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday. Following Tuesday’s quarterfinal games, The highest remaining seed will then host the semifinal and championship rounds on Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, respectively. Tickets for each round are available for advance purchase and can be found, along with all other RMAC Women’s Basketball Tournament information,
here.