Winona State's women's basketball team came up short against the second-ranked team in the country on Sunday night, losing 64-57 to Colorado Mesa in the championship game of the Hoops in Hawaii Classic in Honolulu.
Vivica Bretton led the Warriors with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Sydney Cherney also scored 12 points, Megan Johnson added 10, and Sadie Jarmolowicz led the team with 11 rebounds, matching her career high.
Winona State started fast, scoring the first seven points and keeping Colorado Mesa off the board for the opening four minutes. The Mavericks answered, led 15-11 after the first quarter and took a 27-21 lead into halftime.
The Warriors rallied in the third quarter, briefly taking a three-point lead midway through the period before Colorado Mesa moved back in front 47-43. In the fourth, Winona State cut the margin to one point and later to five with nine seconds left, but the Mavericks closed out the win.
Free throws were a major difference: Colorado Mesa made 19 of 20, compared with 7 of 12 for Winona State, and the Mavericks held a 38-36 edge in rebounds.
Winona State is now 2-1, while Colorado Mesa improved to 3-0. The Warriors play next on Monday, Nov. 9, at Michigan Tech, with tipoff set for 5 p.m.
