DENVER – The learning process continues for the MSU Denver women's basketball team, which continued its take-on-all-comers philosophy with a second game against a defending national champion on Saturday.
 
The exhibition game with NAIA Division II kingpin Concordia (Neb.) was an entertaining up-and-down affair with the Bulldogs eventually pulling away late in the contest for an 81-65 victory.
 
"They've got four seniors who've played together for a long time, and that's a national championship team – I don't care if it's NAIA, that's a good team," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tanya Haave said.
 
The Bulldogs' withering full-court pressure – rarely seen in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – gave MSU Denver a chance to gain valuable experience against that style should it ever be faced again, even if it's in small stretches of league games.
 
"We've struggled against pressure, and they put pressure on us, sped us up," Haave said. "This helped some of our younger players by seeing a team like this."
 
Concordia, which leads NAIA Division II with an average of 104.7 points per game, in scoring margin (plus-50.0) and in steals (26.3), had its moments defensively in creating 37 turnovers, including 25 steals.
 
But MSU Denver showed plenty of promise in outshooting the Bulldogs (42.9 percent to 35.1 percent) and in dominating the boards (55-29).
 
"It really helps keep us in the rhythm of things," MSU Denver guard Jaiden Galloway said. "It doesn't really count, and even though we wanted the win, we were able to work on some things.
 
"It's always fun to play good teams. And it's important to show us that we can compete, because we know we're good – just like they are."
 
Concordia's other exhibition game this season was an 85-83, double-overtime loss to NCAA Division I Creighton, picked to finish fourth in the Big East Conference.
 
"It was an open week in the schedule since there are five weekends in November," Haave said of scheduling Concordia for an exhibition. "We didn't have anybody to play this weekend and they had the weekend open, too, so let's have a game. We lost, but we were pushed, we were challenged, and we got better. The only way to get better is to play good teams."
 
Redshirt freshman Jaela Richardson stood out for the Roadrunners with 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot.
 
"I feel like she hasn't even scratched the surface of what she's going to be able to do," Haave said.
 
Bree Wellington had 17 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Mariah Schroeder scored 13 points, guard Maggie Justinak pulled down 11 rebounds, and Galloway had five points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
Ultimately, though, Concordia's pressure led to added possessions and the Bulldogs wound up taking 18 more field goal attempts (74-56) while also going plus-27 from 3-point range, with 11 makes to MSU Denver's two.
 
"All they need is one or two little breaks, and then they converted on them," Haave said. "They converted off our turnovers better than we did off theirs."
 
MSU Denver, which also played top-ranked NCAA Division II national champion Lubbock Christian (Texas) within 10 points, returns to playing games that count on Friday, when it plays host to Northern State (S.D.).
 
In starting 0-4 in regular-season play, the Roadrunners have faced teams that started the season a combined 14-0.
 
"We're learning to play together and facing adversity," Haave said. "What if we were 4-0 right now and hadn't played anybody, then what happens when we hit a tough stretch in the conference season? We're dealing with those things right now and we're getting them worked out. My hope is that we'll see the benefit of it down the road."