DENVER – Bree Wellington (Fresno, Calif./Buchanan) had to slow down before she could go fast.
 
"I'm a speed player … go, go, go all the time," Wellington said. "But (the coaching staff was) telling me to just slow down. My first step is still quick, and I just had to realize that. I don't have to go so fast all the time."
 
Wellington, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, had easily her best game of the season for Metropolitan State University of Denver in last Friday's 78-61 victory over Fort Lewis. She scored a career-high 17 points while making 7 of 9 from the field and all three of her free throws.
 
Her previous season scoring high had been seven points in the season opener. Wellington had started the first five games of the season, averaging 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds before moving to an off-the-bench role that better suited the Roadrunners' personnel.
 
But Wellington had played less than one quarter's worth of minutes in two of the next six games and scored only nine points total before breaking out against Fort Lewis.
 
"She needed that for her confidence," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said of the Fort Lewis game. "I was so happy for her. She's been working hard. We knew she was getting down on herself. It's always nice to see players have a breakthrough like that. My hope is that it continues."
 
Rather than rushing into shots or moves, Wellington was able to slow down just enough to improve her efficiency without diminishing her ability.
 
Said Wellington: "It broke the ice for my confidence. I was just playing my game and it showed me that I could actually do it. The coaches and my teammates had confidence in me, even when I really didn't, and that helps."
 
Wellington only got two shots the following night in a 60-36 win over Adams State, but she made both of them to cap a weekend in which she averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds.
 
"It was a great all-around weekend," Wellington said. "Plus we got two dubs (wins), which was awesome."
 
The MSU Denver women's basketball season came back to life last weekend.
 
Now the Roadrunners want to keep it going.
 
"We really needed last weekend so much," Wellington said. "Sometimes when you're losing, you're just in a hole and you're wondering where the light is. Last weekend we saw the light in our tunnel."
 
MSU Denver had lost four consecutive games, and had shot 30 percent or worse from the field in four of the previous six halves, before bouncing back for two wins.
 
And now the rejuvenated Roadrunners (5-8 overall, 4-3 and tied for fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) travel to Utah for games Friday at Dixie State (6-5, 2-5) and Saturday at Westminster (9-2, 7-0 and tied for first). Tip off each night is at 5:30.
 
The Roadrunners shot 47.4 percent from the field in the win over Fort Lewis, and – after overcoming a four-point second quarter – shot 42.9 percent against Adams State. MSU Denver shot 50 percent or higher in the second half of each game.
 
Wellington made a huge contribution with her career-high 17 points against Fort Lewis on a night when Jaelynn Smith (Denver, Colo./East) had 25 points and Emily Hartegan (Wylie, Texas/Wylie East) had 21 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Against Adams State, Hartegan had 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Smith had a near triple-double of 13 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
 
Meanwhile Haave, who earlier this season became the program's all-time leader in coaching victories (she now has 163), is one win away from her 200^th overall coaching win. Haave had 36 wins in four seasons at NCAA Division I San Francisco and has an overall record of 199-174.
 
Dixie State and Westminster rank 1-2 in the RMAC in scoring with averages of 73.7 and 71.7 points per game, respectively. Dixie State has four players averaging at least 10.6 points, while Westminster is paced by Hunter Krebs (16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocked shots per game) and RMAC preseason player and defensive of the year Denise Gonzalez (15.8 points, 4.6 assists).
 
"We're playing two quality teams," Haave said. "Two outstanding teams. Dixie's record isn't indicative of how good they are. They are a very skilled, good team. And they are good at home.
 
"And Westminster, along with Mesa, is the best team in the conference. They've got scoring at every position. It's a huge challenge for us, but I'm excited about it."
 
Wellington's propensity to play at a high speed is probably no surprise. She is a rare two-sport athlete at MSU Denver who also excels in track & field – besides competing in the 100 meters and 4x400 relay, she also placed sixth in the high jump (5 feet, 2 inches) at last spring's RMAC Outdoor Championships.
 
"It's a lot of extra repetitions for both teams," Wellington said. "When I'm in track, I have to keep up with my basketball skills, so I do individual work. And when I'm in basketball I do individual work for track. It's a mixture of both all year."
 
So, is she a high jumper or a basketball player?
 
"I guess it's about the same," Wellington said, laughing. "Jumping is my thing. I just like to jump."
 
MSU Denver actually hired a high jump coach once Wellington arrived on campus and expressed an interest in doing both, and there are now several other high jumpers within the program on the men's and women's sides.
 
"They said, 'We're so sorry, we don't have a coach to coach you,'" Wellington said. "But I really wanted to high jump, and I said I could just You Tube it. But they came through and got someone to help me."
 
Wellington said she hadn't focused much on college basketball until the summer before her junior year, after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
 
"I was a kid who liked to play, but I wasn't really thinking about playing in college," Wellington said. "After my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, I was motivated. I didn't want her to have to pay for college. So I decided to play AAU and hoped somebody would want me."
 
Jerry Howard, a Roadrunners recruiting contact, put the two parties in touch after seeing Wellington play at a showcase tournament in California.
 
"I'd never been to Colorado," said Wellington, from Fresno's Buchanan High School. "But he said he'd known Coach Haave for years and that she would like a player like me, someone who is quick and plays good defense."
 
He was right, and soon Wellington was visiting the MSU Denver campus.
 
"I visited, and I loved the team, loved the girls," Wellington said. "And it wasn't as cold as I thought it was going to be."

Wellington's mother, Yolanda Walker, has recovered and comes out to MSU Denver twice a year – once for basketball and once for track. Meanwhile, her daughter stays busy playing two sports and going to class.
 
"I'm a homebody," Wellington said. "My mom and I are best friends. So it was challenging for me to be by myself in Colorado when I don't have family here. But Tanya is like a mom to me. She's always protecting us."