DEAN HUMPHREY / GRAND JUNCTION (COLO.) DAILY SENTINEL
Rosa Masler fought Colorado School of Mines for one of her 16 rebounds in a season-opening game. She has continued her fierce rebounding pace and leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 12.2 rebounds per game.
Masler’s Making Waves
The Maui High School graduate
is a star in basketball and volleyball
at Mesa State
With a streak of five double-doubles (points and rebounds), Rosa Masler is emerging as a double star in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Masler was chosen all-conference in volleyball the past two years and leads RMAC basketball in rebounding this season.
A 2000 Maui High School graduate from Kihei, Masler is the only two-sport athlete at Mesa State College in Western Colorado.
By the numbers
ROSA MASLER
For the season,
through Dec. 3126.5:
Average minutes per game48.8:
Field-goal percentage51.1:
Free-throw percentage12.2:
Rebounds per game (45 offensive, 77 defensive)10.2:
Points per game
In five consecutive games:
10 points, 11 rebounds vs. Nebraska-Kearney, Dec. 12
17 points, 11 rebounds vs. Fort Hays State, Dec. 13
16 points, 14 rebounds vs. Northern Colorado, Dec. 15
10 points, 19 rebounds vs. Northern Colorado, Dec. 20
10 points, 13 rebounds vs. Winona State, Dec. 21
"Pound for pound, I think she's the best athlete on campus," says Patti Arnold, sports editor of the daily Grand Junction Sentinel.
And did we mention that Masler got straight A's last semester despite going from volleyball practice to basketball practice -- plus weightlifting -- almost every day in late October and November?
Masler downplays her achievements, but acknowledged, "I have traveled and grown and done so much, it seems like I'm a different person from high school. (Coming here) was a great move."
Her mother, Linda, who wanted Rosa to stay home and attend Maui Community College, said, "I know nothing about sports. ... She has done all of this on her own, totally taken care of herself. ... She has been very determined."
Masler even secured scholarships on her own.
"It's hard to get recruited," she said. "I didn't know what I was doing and I did not get much guidance."
Dayle Iramina, an assistant coach at Maui High, helped Masler put together a basketball highlight tape, and she sent it to Division II Mesa State after meeting Mesa State recruiter Kennilynn Wright at a college fair in Wailuku.
Masler was stunned when Mesa State offered her a scholarship in volleyball instead of basketball. Women's basketball coach Steve Kirkham explained Thursday, "We are only allowed one out-of-state scholarship and we had used it, but we could see she was a great athlete, so our volleyball coach (Rusty Crick) signed her."
Masler set out to play only volleyball, since that was her scholarship.
But "it really hurt to watch basketball games; I missed it so much," she said.
She has played both sports the past three years and now is focused on basketball only for the first time.
Masler is averaging a double-double (12.2 rebounds and 10.2 points per game). Her rebounds are a big improvement over last season's 6.4 average.
"She has always been great defensively and as a rebounder, and now she is starting to settle into our offensive scheme," said Kirkham, who has guided Mesa State to six division championships in the past seven years and the RMAC title last season.
"She is tough under the basket, finishes a lot of 3-point plays (but needs more work on free throws), and is good from 15-16 feet, in the elbow," Kirkham said.
Added Arnold: "I kid her about being a rebound hound who knocks her own teammates out of the way to get to the ball."
Last month Masler, who is 5-foot-11, got 33 rebounds and 26 points in two games against Division I Northern Colorado. Sometimes Masler wonders if she could have played at a higher level, but said "I don't know if could have made it in D-I. I'm happy at Mesa."
Going to college 3,096 miles away and 5,500 feet above Kihei has been no problem for Masler.
"I have it made," she said.
Last week, when the basketball team had a week off, she went snowboarding.
"Off the court, she's a sweetie, always smiling and laughing," Arnold said.
"She's very proud of being from Hawaii. Whenever possible, she wears a flower in her hair."
Kirkham added, "You could drop her into the Arctic and she would make friends with all the penguins and pretty soon be running the show."
Masler could graduate in May with a degree in mass communications, but she is going to return to pick up a speech minor, do an internship and play a fourth season of basketball.
"I know I can improve so much more. I'm excited about being able to focus only on basketball next season," she said.
And after graduation?
"I have big plans," Masler said. "I love beach volleyball. I want to see how competitive I can get with it.
"I'm going to go to Southern California, make my way out to Huntington Beach and see what I can do."
The guys she has been beating up on the outdoor courts in Kihei during the summer think she will do just fine.
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