DENVER – Last year's visit to Northern State (S.D.) was the low point of MSU Denver's women's basketball season.
 
Not only did the Roadrunners drop to 3-8 in suffering their fourth straight loss, 52-41 to a team that would eventually finish 10-19, they were also stranded for two more days in South Dakota because of weather.
 
After making a harrowing drive from Aberdeen, S.D., to Watertown, S.D., to catch a flight that never departed, the team waited around for two more nights before finally finding a flight out of Minneapolis, another four hours away.
 
After dropping the team off at the airport, Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tanya Haave and assistant Alexa Hardick then had to drive the rented team vans back to Sioux Falls, S.D., another four-hour jaunt and another one-night stay, before they finally made it back to campus, too.
 
"The drive from Aberdeen to Watertown was pure ice," Haave said. "At first they were talking about not being able to get out until that Friday, and we had a conference game that night. The wind chill was 40 below (zero). The said it was the worst storm they'd had in years. We weren't able to do anything in Watertown (including practice).
 
"Those are the trips you never forget."
 
But instead of having a forgettable season, MSU Denver immediately bounced back, winning two home Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games that weekend, dropping two in a tough road trip to Utah, and then reeling off win streaks of six and five games while going 11-2 down the stretch to finish the regular season at 16-12 overall and 15-7 for third place in the RMAC.
 
"I have to give our players a lot of the credit," Haave said. "They'd had enough of it and decided, 'let's fix this.' They just got tired of losing."
 
With Northern State coming to town for a 5:30 p.m. game Friday as part of the Holiday Inn Denver Cherry Creek Classic (the Roadrunners also face Central Washington on Saturday at 4 p.m.), MSU Denver is in a little bit of a similar situation.
 
The Roadrunners are 0-4, but in their defense they have also faced teams that are a combined 20-1. And three of the teams they've faced – Nos. 2 and 1 Lubbock Christian (Texas), No. 11 Minnesota State-Moorhead and Nos. 20 and 14 Texas A&M-Commerce – are nationally ranked.
 
Northern State is 2-3 this season, but its losses have come to Minnesota State-Moorhead as well as two teams receiving votes in the national polls. The Wolves were picked to finish 12^th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and fifth in their division.
 
Central Washington, meanwhile, is 2-2, but is the preseason pick to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and has lost to Nos. 23 and 22 Westminster as well as a Hawaii Pacific team that is receiving votes in the national polls. The Wildcats' Alexis Pana is the preseason GNAC player of the year and is averaging 15.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals.
 
"That's two more solid teams we're facing," Haave said. "If we're not prepared for the RMAC after this non-conference schedule … but I know we're tough enough to handle it."
 
Jaiden Galloway leads the Roadrunners with averages of 9.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, while Jaela Richardson averages 7.3 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds. Bree Wellington adds 8.0 points and a team-high 1.3 blocked shots.
 
Though the Roadrunners have played two exhibition games at home, Friday's matchup serves as the team's regular-season home opener.
 
"I think it's huge that we are home for three of the next four weekends," Haave said.
 
"We've been able to work on things that we need to improve, and the players have been great, very receptive to coaching, and they have each other's backs. I'm anxious to see if it will carry over to the floor. It's all about making progress and pointing towards conference play."
 
The next step, though, is Friday against Northern State.
 
"I'm just glad we're playing them at home this time," Haave said.