By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship tournament began Tuesday night, with three of the top four seeds winning to advance to Friday's semifinals. No. 1 seed Colorado Mesa University stormed into the semifinal round and will host the semifinals on Friday night and the championship game on Saturday night in Grand Junction, Colorado.
The Mavericks will host No. 5 seed Black Hills State University, the lone road team to win in its quarterfinal contest. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 seed University of Colorado Colorado Springs will square off against No. 3 seed Adams State University. The two semifinal winners advance to the 6 p.m., Saturday championship game.
Quarterfinal Recaps
#1 Colorado Mesa def. #8 Colorado School of Mines, 96-51
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Olivia Reed Thyne led all scorers with 31 points, leading Colorado Mesa to an impressive 96-51 quarterfinal victory. The 45-point margin was the fifth largest margin of victory in RMAC Women's Basketball tournament history. The Mavericks made quite the opening statement, racing to a 33-8 lead after the first quarter, while shooting 12-of-16 from the floor abd 4-of-4 from three-point range, with Reed Thyne scoring 15 points in the frame. Colorado Mesa never looked back after the first, extending its lead in each of the remaining three quarters, Colorado Mesa extended its winning streak to 28 games with the win.
#5 Black Hills State def. #4 Western Colorado, 77-62
GUNNISON, Colo. – Brinlee McRae's season-best 31-point performance powered Black Hills State to a 77-62 road quarterfinal win. After the Yellow Jackets and Mountaineers battled to a 16-16 tie in the first quarter, it was McRae's three-pointer with 3:28 remaining in the second quarter that game BHSU a 27-22 lead they would not relinquish as they took a 34-26 lead into halftime. They outscored Western Colorado 43-36 in the second half to secure the win. McRae was 12-of-19 from the floor and 6-of-7 from three-point range in the win. Alyssa Eckroth led Western Colorado with 21 points, going11-of-12 at the free-throw line along with 4-of-10 from the field.
#2 UCCS def. #7 Fort Lewis, 75-65
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – UCCS opened with a 21-point first quarter to lead by 10 points and fended off a second half charge to down Fort Lewis, 75-65 in quarterfinal action. The Mountain Lions built a 21-11 lead in the first quarter behind 7-of-16 (43.8%) shooting while the Skyhawks struggled to 4-of-14 (28.6%) shooting and were 0-of-5 from three-point range. Fort Lewis battled back in the second quarter, trimming UCCS' lead to 37-33 at halftime. The Skyhawks kept the pressure on in the third frame and closed to within a point at 48-47 with 4:03 left in the quarter. However, UCCS did not relinquish the lead and led 56-52 when the quarter ended and would not look back. Amyah Moore Allen led UCCS with 21 points, with Ayianna Johnson and Jayla Jackson-Allen each scoring 16 points. Natalie Guanella led Fort Lewis with 19 points.
#3 Adams State def. #6 MSU Denver, 71-63
ALAMOSA, Colo. – Adams State used a 30-point third quarter to pull away for a 71-63 victory against MSU Denver in quarterfinal action. The Grizzlies opened the game with an 18-10 lead after the first quarter only to see the Roadrunners battle back to win the second quarter 19-10 and take a 29-28 lead into the break. The teams would be tied 40-40 with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter when Ashiian Hunter hit back-to-back three pointers to kick off Adams State's decisive 18-7 run that saw it end the third quarter leading 58-47. Hunter led Adams State with 18 points while going 4-of-11 from three-point range. MSU Denver's Jadyn Watts led all scorers with 23 points and had 10 rebounds.