GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Colorado School of Mines battled to the end, but saw its season come to a close with a 73-63 loss at Colorado Mesa in the RMAC Tournament quarterfinals.

The Orediggers end the season 17-15 overall. Mines was the seventh seed in the tournament facing the second-seeded Mavericks (20-6), who will face UCCS in the semifinals.

Emily Bailey poured in 23 points and Elizabeth Tomon matched her career high with 20 points. Erin Reichle scored 21 to pace the Mavs.

Mines got off to a hot start, scoring the first nine points of the game on the way to an 18-11 lead after the first with Bailey scoring eight and Tomon six in the period. Things quickly turned around for the Mavericks in the second, however, as they began on a 17-0 run to wrest control from the Orediggers. That gave them a 35-25 halftime lead, outscoring Mines 24-7 in the second.

Mesa ballooned the lead to as much as 17 in the third quarter, leading 46-29 on Erin Reichle's three-pointer at the 7:06 mark, but Mines showed no quit. They responded with a 13-2 run to bring the lead to 50-44 early in the fourth quarter, with Bailey and Tomon combining for nine of those points. CMU shut the door, however, with another huge run, reeling off 12 unanswered to lead 67-48 with 6:30 remaining.

Mines still wouldn't go away, and managed to bring the lead down to single digits with a 15-3 run keyed by threes from Bailey and Tomon. That made it 70-63 with 21 seconds to go, but Mines ran out of time in their comeback bid as the Mavs held on to win.

NOTABLES
- Senior Laura Tyree ended one of the finest careers ever by an Oredigger with 10 points, five rebounds, a block, and an assist. She finishes with 1,175 career points (seventh at Mines), 397 assists (the program record and ninth all-time in the RMAC), 170 steals (sixth at Mines), and 460 rebounds.
- Tomon played a career-high 38 minutes and shot 9-for-13 to build her 20 points, which include a pair of three-pointers.
- Mikaela Moore scored eight points to go with nine boards and also dished four assists with three steals.
- Mines shot 36.2 percent for the game to Mesa's 44.4 percent. Rebounds were equal at 37.