DENVER – MSU Denver women's basketball coach Tanya Haave remembers the first time she saw Jonalyn Wittwer (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek).
 
It was 2012, the NCAA Division I Women's Final Four was in Denver, and Wittwer was in town. Her uncle, then-MSU Denver men's coach Derrick Clark, was putting his niece through a workout.
 
An impressive one, apparently.
 
"It turns out they were interested (in MSU Denver), and I went and watched her play," Haave said. "But the first time I saw her, 6-foot guard from Wisconsin … we started recruiting her and the rest is history."
 
Wittwer (call her Joni, but pronounce it Johnny) has been etching her name into Roadrunners history since joining the program for the 2015-16 season.
 
After averaging 4.9 points per game through three seasons, she's being looked up for more scoring in addition to her excellent perimeter defense during her senior year. And she is delivering, with an average of 12.3 points per game through the first three games of the season.
 
"For me the offseason is about putting up a lot of shots, and I did that," Wittwer said. "Really the big change is more mentally. Because I know that, physically, I can do it. I know I have the shot. It's just having the mindset of being the aggressor.
 
"Before I was able to sit back because we had others we could rely on for scoring, but now I know this is what my team needs out of me, so that's what I've got to do."
 
The Roadrunners are off to an 0-3 start, but the schedule has been difficult, with two matchups against teams in the NCAA Division II national top 10.
 
And it doesn't seem to let up this weekend during the Holiday Inn Denver Cherry Creek Classic at the Auraria Event Center. The Roadrunners face returning national qualifier Minnesota State-Moorhead at 5 p.m. Friday before facing Winona State (Minn.) at 3 p.m. Saturday.
 
"I don't think our record is a real indicator of our team right now," Wittwer said. "We've been going up against really tough teams. Coach made our schedule like this for a reason. We don't get better if we're beating teams by 30. So the games we've played have been really good for us.
 
"You can definitely see the improvement, especially from the younger girls, from the first game of the season, and we're figuring out how we fit together as a team with our roles."
 
Wittwer's role includes scoring more. Preferably much more.
Thus far she's doubled her point production from last year, when she started all 32 games and averaged 6.2 per game while shooting 37.2 percent (45 of 121) from 3-point range.
 
She's been even better from long distance this year, making 11 of 26 for 42.3 percent, which includes her 6 for 8 shooting from beyond the arc in a near-upset of No. 7 West Texas A&M last Saturday. Wittwer made all four of her fourth-quarter 3s in that game.
 
Despite perhaps preferring to defer early in her career, Wittwer has a chance to finish her career high on MSU Denver's all-time 3-point shooting chart. She has made 91 for her career, and merely repeating last year's output would put her seventh on the list.
 
"I used to have to take her out for not shooting," Haave said. "I got on her a little bit in practice this year, but not in a game yet. She doesn't take bad shots. Her shot selection is very good. But her sophomore year, I told her, 'If you don't shoot, I'm going to take you out.' First time I've ever had to tell a player that."
 
Minnesota State-Moorhead, coming off a 23-6 season, is picked to finish second in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Dragons are led by 6-2 junior Megan Hintz, who averages 13.3 points and 11.5 rebounds this year, and 5-7 senior Jacky Volkert, who last season averaged 13.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists.
 
Winona State (1-1), which plays Friday at Colorado Christian, is picked to finish seventh in the NSIC and was only 17-13 overall last year, but also nearly played its way into the NCAA tournament by reaching the final of the league tournament. Guard Allie Pickrain leads the Warriors with 12.5 points per game.
 
"Another good two games ahead of us," Wittwer said. "We're looking for consistency on the floor. We've had bits and pieces here and there, and now we have to put all four quarters together."
 
Said Haave: "I like that we're at home, but we're continuing to challenge our team. If we progress this week like we did last week, I'll be very pleased."