DENVER – After a weekend when Metropolitan State University of Denver twice topped 80 points while setting a number of individual records, the hope now is that the Roadrunners can keep it going.
 
Last weekend, MSU Denver cruised past Colorado State University-Pueblo, which had been a strong Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contender, and then repeated the feat against New Mexico Highlands: the Roadrunners posted wins of 82-51 and 81-41.
 
"I thought we could win," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said of the CSU-Pueblo game. "I didn't know that was what was going to happen. Everybody came in with great energy, and I hope it's a sign that we're all moving in the same direction and we're all contributing what we can."
 
Jaelynn Smith (Denver, Colo./East) became the program's all-time assists leader in Friday's win, then Jonalyn Wittwer (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek) hit a mind-boggling 11 3-pointers on Saturday – setting school and RMAC records for 3s in a game and tying an NCAA Division II record by making nine straight in one game.
 
Heading into home games this weekend against Colorado School of Mines on Friday and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on Saturday, the Roadrunners would like to keep it going.
 
"We'd like to build on what we did last weekend," Haave said. "They're starting to understand their roles. Everybody can, and needs to, contribute."
 
Friday's 5:30 p.m. game against Mines is a "We Back Pat Game," for Alzheimer's awareness. A portion of the ticket revenue from the game will be donated to the Pat Summitt Foundation, and that total will be matched by the MSU Denver women's basketball program.
 
Pat Summitt is the legendary former Tennessee coach who passed away in 2016 – she had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2011. The night is particularly special to Haave, who played for Summitt and is considered one of the top players in the history of the storied program.
 
Many teams throughout the Southeastern Conference are having "We Back Pat" games this week. Coaches will wear purple, and both the MSU Denver women's and men's teams will wear purple warmup shirts to commemorate the occasion.
 
"It's a good way for me, personally, to honor her," Haave said. "It's a shame what happened to her. It's special for me, but I think just about everyone has been touched by this as well."
 
Meanwhile, the Colorado School of Mines women's team comes to the Auraria Event Center on a five-game winning streak that has helped the Orediggers (10-6 overall) moved up to a tie for fourth in the RMAC at 7-4.
 
"They're a solid team," Haave said. "They've found their way. Typically they are very physical."
 
UCCS comes in for Saturday's 5 p.m. game with identical records as MSU Denver – 7-10 overall and 6-5 for a sixth-place tie in the RMAC.
 
The Mountain Lions have beaten some teams that MSU Denver has lost to (Western State Colorado, Colorado Christian and Dixie State) and has lost to some teams the Roadrunners have beaten (Regis and Fort Lewis). They have no player averaging more than 7.9 points per game.
 
"I think they get contributions from different people on different nights," Haave said. "And their style can lend itself to that. They play a methodical game, but it's very effective."
 
The Roadrunners have won four straight home games and are looking to make a push toward the RMAC tournament. They've continued to get strong play from Smith, Wittwer and fellow senior Emily Hartegan (Wylie, Texas/Wylie East), but other rotation regulars have also stepped up recently.
 
And, over the past three games, freshman forward Morgan Lewis (Pagosa Springs, Colo./Pagosa Springs) and sophomore guard Mariah Schroeder (Caledonia, Minn./Caledonia) have joined the playing rotation and made an impact. Lewis is averaging 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds over the past three games while shooting 66.7 percent (12 of 18) from the field. Schroeder has scored eight points over the past three games, and she had four points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals against CSU-Pueblo.
 
They rank 1-2 on the team in plus/minus, with Schroeder at +15.6 points per 40 minutes, and Lewis second at +9.0.

"They've earned it in practice," Haave said. "There's comfort for me and their teammates with them in the rotation. So now, you've got two extra players, and we're not having players playing 38 minutes, 37 minutes. That's big when you play back-to-back nights, and when you're coming down the stretch like we are. Hopefully we can be a little bit fresher."