Where good news shines

For a third consecutive year, Colorado Mesa University senior forward Olivia Reed Thyne was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year, the league announced Thursday.

Adams State guard Elaina Watson is the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. South Dakota Mines freshman guard Addison Miranda claimed the RMAC Freshman of the Year award. Colorado Mesa’s Taylor Wagner is the league’s Coach of the Year honoree.

The RMAC’s career leader in scoring and rebounding, Reed Thyne now adds three-time RMAC Player of the Year to her resume. She finished the regular season ranked second among league scorers (20.8 points per game) and led the league in rebounding (11.2 per game). Reed Thyne again led the league in field-goal percentage, making an impressive 61.2% (254 of 415) of her shots, ranking fifth among Division II shooters. She also led the league in blocks (1.48 per game).

Reed Thyne closed the regular season with a flourish, becoming the first RMAC women’s player to record a triple-double, posting 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a win against Black Hills State that secured Colorado Mesa’s undefeated RMAC season.

(“Colorado Sunshine” celebrates the good news in sports. Suggestions are encouraged through sports editor Paul Klee at [email protected].)