ST. GEORGE, Utah – Sometimes, you grind for 40 minutes and still don't come out on top.

The Metropolitan State University of Denver women's basketball team put in four quarters of solid effort on Friday evening at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah, but ultimately fell to host Dixie State by a final score of 62-55.

"This game was ripe for the taking and we couldn't get it done, couldn't execute," MSU Denver head coach Tanya Haave said following the game. "We just never could get a rhythm offensively. I think some frustration set in offensively and then we were forcing shots. We had good looks, so I think we've got to take what we can from this and move on. We still had some mental errors defensively and we've just got to maintain our concentration on the road."

The Roadrunners (5-9, 4-4 and T-7^th Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) and Trailblazers (7-5, 3-5 and T-11^th RMAC) were tied at 30 apiece heading into the locker room at halftime, but Dixie State outscored MSU Denver by four points in the third quarter and three points in the fourth to steal a seven-point win.

The ebbs and flows of the first quarter indicated the game would be a back-and-forth battle, and that's exactly what it was. MSU Denver grabbed a five-point lead less than four minutes into the game thanks to a hot start by senior forward Mikayla Gonzales (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View), but Dixie State clawed back to take a 17-14 lead by the end of the period. Gonzales had five of her seven points in the opening period.
The Trailblazers stormed in front by as many as eight points in the second quarter, but MSU Denver ended the first half on an 11-3 run to knot the game at 30. Freshman guard paced the Roadrunners' second quarter effort with two 3-pointers in the period.  

MSU Denver struggled to find the hoop in the third quarter, shooting just 6 of 19 from the field while Dixie State was 7 of 16. A 6-0 run by the Trailblazers from near the end of the third quarter into the beginning of the fourth gave them the lead for good, but the game wasn't out of the Roadrunners' reach till late in the fourth quarter. A bucket from senior guard Jaelynn Smith (Denver, Colo./East) cut the Dixie State lead to 57-55 with 3:32 remaining, but MSU Denver missed its final five shots and turned the ball over twice in the final minutes as Dixie State held onto its lead.  

Despite a poor shooting night, Smith stuffed the stat sheet yet again for MSU Denver with 15 points, a career-high tying 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a block. It was the third double-double of the season and ninth career double-double for the RMAC assists leader.

Speaking of double-doubles, senior forward Emily Hartegan (Wylie, Texas/Wylie East) recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds Friday night for her third consecutive double-double, fourth of the season and ninth of her career. Senior guard Jonalyn Wittwer (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek) made three shots from distance for nine points, while junior forward Bree Wellington (Fresno, Calif./Buchanan) chipped in four points and five rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench for MSU Denver.

As a team, MSU Denver shot 33.8% from the field Friday evening (23 of 68) while Dixie State managed a 41.4% clip (24 of 58). Both teams struggled from the free throw line, each shooting under 40% from the charity stripe on the night. MSU Denver outrebounded Dixie State 45-44.  

The Roadrunners will try to get their mojo back in the second game of their Utah swing tomorrow night at RMAC co-leader Westminster College.

"I think focusing on executing and getting the best shot possible will help our confidence," Haave said as MSU Denver gets ready to take on the Griffins, who enter Saturday's game with a 10-2 overall record and perfect 8-0 mark in league play. "We need to emphasize moving the ball and getting an open shot, and we just need to be more efficient."

Tip-off for tomorrow's game is set for 5:30 p.m. MT from Behnken Field House in Salt Lake City.