By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –  Sixteen of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s 20-member 2023-24 women’s basketball all-conference teams return to compete for the 2024-25 title, including its Player, Freshman, and Defensive Players of the Year. Those 16 returnees highlight a 20-woman Preseason Watch List released Tuesday before the regular season’s start.
 
The RMAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Watch List includes any returning First and Second Team All-RMAC selections and the top player on each team without a returning All-RMAC selection, as nominated by their institution.
 
Last month, Colorado Mesa was picked to win the 2024-25 regular season title in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll followed by the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Colorado State University Pueblo.
 
Leading the RMAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Watch List is Colorado Mesa’s Olivia Reed, the 2023-24 RMAC Player of the Year. She enjoyed an impressive sophomore campaign, earning First Team All-South Region, WBCA honorable mention All-America, CSC Third Team Academic All-American, and RMAC Academic Player of the Year. Reed was among the league’s Top 5 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots, and field goal percentage. She averaged 17.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 57.8% from the floor. Reed had 12 double-doubles, scored 30 points in a game five times, and even had a 30-point, 24-rebound performance.
 
With an expected move to Colorado Mesa’s starting five in the offering, Mason Rowland returns for her sophomore campaign after claiming Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-RMAC honors last season. She was the Mavericks' top weapon off the bench all of last season and averaged 14.6 points per game – 11th best in the league last season. Rowland scored 20 points in a game seven times and reached double digits in 23 of her 32 games last season.
 
CSU Pueblo’s  Alisha Little continued building on her impressive resume last season. The RMAC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-RMAC, also was a First Team All-South Central Region honoree, a WBCA honorable mention All-American, and was named to the First Team All-Colorado Women’s Collegiate Team. And all that after leading Division II in double-doubles and blocked shots during the season. Little finished last season with 20.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 blocked shots per game while posting 24 double-doubles – all RMAC bests. She was the only Division II player to finish the season with at least 600 points, 300 rebounds, and 100 blocked shots.
 
The complete RMAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Watch List is below. Adams State and Black Hills State premiered their 2024-25 seasons at last weekend's D2CCA Tipoff Classic. The 2024-25 women’s basketball season begins Friday with 14 of the league’s 15 teams in action. The RMAC regular-season slate begins Tuesday, Dec. 3, when Black Hills State hosts South Dakota Mines. A full seven-game league slate follows on Thursday, Dec. 5. The 2024-25 RMAC Women’s Basketball Championship is set for March 4-8, leading up to the announcement of the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship field on Sunday, March 9.
 

RMAC Women's Basketball Preseason Watch List

Kiiyani Anitielu, Junior, Guard, Adams State University

• A 2023-24 Second Team All-RMAC selection who averaged 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. She made 51.0 percent of her field goals and 34.3 percent of her three-point attempts last season.

Kalla Bertram, Senior, Guard, Black Hills State University

• A 2023-24 Second Team All-RMAC performer who averaged 9.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 rebounds per game for the Yellow Jackets.

Ashayla Powers, Senior, Forward, Chadron State College

• A 2023-24 Second Team All-RMAC honoree who led the Eagles with 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, playing 22 games. Powers also was a 2022-23 First Team All-RMAC selection.

Maggie Hutka, Junior, Forward, Colorado Christian University

• A 2023-24 First Team All-RMAC pick and two-time RMAC Player of the Week. She averaged 20.2 points in 29 games played last season.

Kylie Kravig, Senior, Guard, Colorado Mesa University

• A Second Team All-RMAC selection who led the league with 5.6 assists per game and was second among league players with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio while averaging 34.5 minutes per game. Has played in 61 consecutive games entering 2024-25.

Olivia Reed, Junior, Forward, Colorado Mesa University

• The reigning RMAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-RMAC pick, after leading the league with a 57.8 field-goal percentage and finishing second in rebounding (11.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg).

Mason Rowland, Sophomore, Guard, Colorado Mesa University

• The reigning RMAC Freshman of the Year and a Second Team All-RMAC choice. She was the Mavericks’ top player off the bench as a freshman, averaging 14.6 points per game – 11th best in the RMAC.

Jenna Siebert, Junior (RS), Guard, Colorado School of Mines

• An honorable mention All-RMAC selection last season, she is the Orediggers' top returning scorer this season after averaging 10.5 points per game last season. Siebert looks to build off her effort against Texas Woman’s University in last season’s NCAA Tournament where she scored 23 points in 26 minutes.

Alisha Little, Senior (RS), Forward, Colorado State University Pueblo

• The two-time First Team All-RMAC honoree added last season’s Defensive Player of the Year award to her trophy case. She was a nine-time RMAC Player of the Week and seven-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week last season. Little averaged 20.8 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.6 blocked shots in 2023-24.

Autumn Watts, Senior (RS), Forward, Colorado State University Pueblo

• A Second Team All-RMAC selection, she averaged 10.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game to give the ThunderWolves a powerful 1-2 punch at forward. She shot 42.7 percent from the field and 72.3 percent from the free-throw line while tallying 18 double-digit scoring outings.

Sydney Bevington, Junior (RS), Guard, Fort Lewis College

• Bevington returns after missing nearly all of 2023-24 after suffering a season-ending injury in the season’s first two weeks. She showed promise in her first three games with the Skyhawks, including an 18-rebound effort against Northern New Mexico.

Mikayla Espinosa, Junior, Guard, Metropolitan State University of Denver

• A First Team All-RMAC honoree after averaging 15.3 points per game – ninth most in the RMAC. She had three 30-point outings for the Roadrunners last season, something no other MSU Denver athlete had done in a career.

Juliana Aragon, Junior, Guard, New Mexico Highlands University

• Aragon has been the Cowboys leading scorer each of the past two seasons and has 720 career points entering 2024-25. She is a returning Second Team All-RMAC pick after averaging 11.9 points and 3.1 assists per game last season.

Erin Fry, Graduate, Guard, Regis University

• The 2020-21 RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year garnered First Team All-RMAC honors last season. She averaged 12.4 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Rangers.

Athena Saragoza, Senior, Guard, Regis University

• A Second Team All-RMAC choice last season, she led Regis with 13.0 points per game while shooting 37.4 percent from three-point range.

Piper Bauer, Senior, Guard, South Dakota Mines

• Bauer promises to be one of the RMAC’s top three-point sharpshooters again this season. She garnered Second Team All-RMAC recognition after finishing third among league shooters in three-point field goals per game (3.0) and three-point field goal percentage (37.9). Bauer enters the season with 240 three-pointers, which is the third most in program history.

Amyah Moore Allen, Junior (RS), Guard, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

• A First Team All-RMAC selection, Allen also was an RMAC All-Tournament pick. She was the Mountain Lions’ No. 2 in scoring (12.7 ppg), rebounds (94), assists (55), and blocked shots (23), while leading the team with 57 steals.

Maison White, Senior, Forward, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

• Used a program-record 288 rebounds to garner First Team All-RMAC recognition last season. She shot 55.9 percent from the field in 2023-24, second-best in the RMAC and 16th among Division II shooters.

Rachel Cockman, Senior, Center, Western Colorado

• The lone center on the Preseason Watch List, Cockman averaged 14.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 22 games played last season. The Second Team All-RMAC pick ranked 10th in scoring and ninth in rebounding among RMAC players last season.

Teuila Nawahine, Junior, Guard, Westminster University

• Nawahine returns after averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 27 games to lead the Griffins last season. She poured in 22 points in back-to-back RMAC outings against Colorado Christian and Chadron State last season.

 
About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 15 member schools. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 52 national runners-up since 1992.
 
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