GUNNISON, Colo.  It didn't look that way in the early going, but Western Colorado made visiting and ninth-ranked Colorado Mesa University work for its 70-59 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win Tuesday night at Paul Wright Gym.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Colorado Mesa def. Western, 70-59
Records: Western 6-7 overall (4-3 RMAC), CMU 17-1 (7-0)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The visiting Mavericks came out of the gate on fire, cruising out to a 15-0 start before Ivey Schmidt's jumper ended the run and Western's scoring drought. By the end of the first quarter, CMU had maintained its double-digit advantage, 23-10.
• Western had its troubles in the second quarter as well, falling behind by 18 points on three occasions before whittling a few points from the deficit to head into the halftime break trailing by 14 points, 42-28.
• The Mountaineers had their spurts of success within the third frame, but CMU held Western at arms length, the Mountaineers trailing 55-45 going into the final quarter.
• Alyssa Eckroth lit a fire under Western right from the beginning of the fourth, dropping in a 3-pointer that cut the CMU lead into single digits, 55-48, since the 8:39 mark of the third quarter.
• A minute later, a pair of Eckroth free throws pulled Western to within six, and after Chloe Daniels ripped away a defensive rebound at one end, Eckroth hit a triple from the right wing to close the deficit to a basket, 56-53.
• The long road back, however, seemed to end there as the Mavs answered by stretching its cushion back to 10, at 63-53, and Western couldn't find enough baskets over the remaining six minutes to complete the rally.

COURT NOTES

• Eckroth led Western with 16 points, but Jayda Maves and Schmidt also went for double figures, each scoring 14 on the night.
• The Mountaineers, as is often the case, won the rebounding battle, 38-34, led by Addison Harding's seven, while six teammates came away with at least four rebounds each.
• Mesa relied on two scorers all night, getting 23 apiece from Olivia Reed and Mason Rowland, while the rest of the team totaled only 24 points.
• Turnovers have been an issue for the Mountaineers, but not on this night as they surrendered possession only nine times for a season low turnovers count.
• A tough opening quarter, shooting just 29 percent, put Western behind, though it would end the night at 37% from the floor.

UP NEXT
Western travels to Salt Lake City for an RMAC game on Saturday afternoon at Westminster University.