DENVER – Whatever it takes, Jaelynn Smith (Denver, Colo./East) has done it.
 
And, for nearly two decades, almost no one in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has done what she is doing this year.
 
As the MSU Denver women's basketball team travels to South Dakota for important RMAC games Friday at 5:30 p.m. against South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and Saturday at 4 p.m. against Black Hills State, the 5-foot-7 point guard is having an incomparable season.
 
Through 13 league games, Smith ranks in the top six in four major categories: points (second, 18.8 per game), assists (first, 5.5), steals (third, 2.3 per game) and rebounds (sixth, 7.2).
 
Only one player in RMAC history dating to the 2001-02 season can match that: Colorado Christian's Christina Whitelaw was sixth in scoring, fourth in rebounds and led the league in both assists and steals in 2011-12. Whitelaw was the league's player of the year that season.
 
Only three players have even finished in the top 10 in those four categories in a season, dating to 2001-02 (the earliest season that RMAC records are available online). Those three are Katie Louthan of Colorado Christian (2015-16), Whitelaw and Amy Mohr of Fort Lewis (2004-05).
 
And, just for good measure, because she is virtually impossible to guard, Smith leads the league – by a wide margin – in both free throws made (81) and attempted (100). No one else has made more than 55 or shot more than 69.

Considering all games, Smith ranks in the top nine in the league in points (third), rebounds (ninth), assists (first) and steals (sixth): no player in the league has finished in the top nine in all four since Colorado Mesa's Katrina Selsor in 2012-13.
 
Can Smith become the Roadrunners' first RMAC player of the year since Farrah Magee in 1997-98?
 
"We're going to have to keep on winning some games," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tanya Haave said.
 
Which takes us back to this weekend.
 
The Roadrunners (9-10 overall) are riding a four-game winning streak that has moved them up into a fourth-place tie in the RMAC at 8-5. South Dakota Mines is 6-11 and 3-10. Black Hills State, nationally ranked earlier this season, is 11-6 and 7-6.
 
"It's different on the road," Haave said. "It's going to be important that we are focused. Hopefully the momentum from the four home wins will propel us on this road trip."
 
Smith helped propel the Roadrunners to victory on Saturday, when they posted their biggest comeback win since the 2015-16 season. MSU Denver trailed by 16 points in the third quarter, and then Smith willed her team back.
 
First, she made one of her trademark nifty drives and clever finishes for a layup. Then she drove the lane again and drew a foul, making two free throws. And then she drove again and dished to Bree Wellington (Fresno, Calif./Buchanan) for a basket. Suddenly a 43-27 deficit was down to 43-33. Game on. MSU Denver eventually won 60-56.
 
"She has this instinct of what the team needs," Haave said. "She didn't score as much trying to get other people involved in the first half. And then it was, 'OK, now I've got to step it up.' People ask, 'Did you tell her (to look to score more)?' No. I don't have to tell her that. She just knows."
 
And, of course, the MSU Denver team is far from a one-woman show. Even though Emily Hartegan (Wylie, Texas/Wylie East) was out for the weekend for personal reasons and Mikayla Gonzales (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) was ill and wasn't as effective as normal on Saturday. But the Roadrunners shrugged off the loss of two starters and won anyway, capping a weekend sweep.
 
"Coming back from 16 down, how we won was significant," Haave said. "That showed us that we can come back. We can stay in the moment. And it was significant that it was against someone we were right there with (in the league standings)."
 
Wellington had perhaps the best weekend over her career, averaging 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds.
 
"That was really great," Haave said. "We always thought that's what she was capable of, it was just convincing her of it. Now she's starting to believe it, because she's starting to see it."
 
Wellington was practically impossible to stop in the low post.
 
"It was open," Haave said. "And then she took advantage of the opportunities. Early in the year when she was struggling a bit, I think the trust from her teammates might have gone away. But now I think that trust has been re-established. 'Hey, she's going to catch it and finish it.' Now the ball is coming back to her again."
 
Jonalyn Wittwer (Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek) continued her hot shooting, making 7 of 15 from 3-point range while averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds (including a career-high nine on Saturday). Morgan Lewis (Pagosa Springs, Colo./Pagosa Springs) averaged 7.5 rebounds, grabbing 15 in only 26 minutes of action.
 
The Roadrunners are hoping to extend the winning streak to six this weekend, but realize it won't be easy.
 
"For us, traditionally, Mines has been a very hard place for us to play," Haave said. "The focus is being ready to play. We won their last year for the first time since they've been in the league. It's going to be all about us. Us executing our game plan, us playing our game. Along that same theme, we've been able to be consistent.
 
"Black Hills is the same thing. Be ready to play and focus on the game plan. We'll have to weather some storms. They've pressured us, traditionally. They're dangerous."