GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. --- The Western Colorado women's basketball team's six-game winning streak – the longest for the program since 2007-08 – came to an end Friday night as the Mountaineers struggled offensively and fell to Colorado Mesa 44-36 in a top-10 regional matchup at Brownson Arena.
 
WCU (6-3 overall, 4-1 RMAC), ranked No. 9 in the latest D2SIDA South Central Region poll, shot 27.7 percent – including 3-for-18 from 3-point range – while turning the ball over 17 times against the Mavericks (9-2, 5-0), ranked No. 5 in the region.
 
Despite the struggles, the Mountaineers held a 27-26 lead on CMU after a Katie Dalton bucket at the 6:03 mark in the third quarter. But the Mavs went on an 11-0 run to take a 37-27 lead before a Gabie Doud free throw with 24 seconds left in the quarter made it a nine-point deficit for the Mountaineers.
 
WCU wouldn't get closer than six points the rest of the contest.
 
The Mountaineer defense again held a team under 50 points in the game as they limited CMU to 28.6 percent shooting – but couldn't find enough offense to take advantage of the defensive effort.
 
Doud led the Mountaineers with nine points and nine rebounds while Dalton had eight points and five rebounds.
 
WCU is off before hitting the road to take on Black Hills State on Jan. 3.