DENVER – You can see it in Jaiden Galloway's eyes.
 
When she is defending the ballhandler, if there is any opening, any slip-up at all, in a fraction of second Galloway will have taken the ball away.
 
She has a propensity for plunder.
 
"I think I'm just good at predicting," Galloway said. "I think it's fun. Defense is like a game in my head, like 'I'll bet she's thinking she's going to go here.'"
 
Galloway, a sophomore point guard, had a career-high seven steals last Friday in a win at CSU-Pueblo, the most by an MSU Denver player since 2010 and tied for the most by any Roadrunner since 2005.
 
Unlike many who get their takeaways by jumping into passing lanes to make steals, the majority of Galloway's thefts are by simply taking the ball away from the dribbler.
 
"She's really great at that, too," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "She's got great hands.
 
"She loves defending. She's got great quickness."
 
Galloway will seek more sleight-of-hand this weekend, as the Roadrunners (7-10 overall, 6-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) prepare for road games Friday at 6 p.m. against Colorado School of Mines (10-6, 7-4) and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at UCCS (4-13, 3-8).
 
Galloway ranks third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 2.4 steals per game and she's been even better in league play, with an RMAC-best average of 3.1 steals.
 
Of Galloway's seven steals against CSU-Pueblo, five of them came on turnovers by Janaiya Davis, who nonetheless earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week. Despite her defensive prowess, Galloway still hasn't been the league's defensive player of the week – yet.
 
At her current rate, it figures to happen eventually.
 
Through 46 career games, Galloway has 92 steals. Her average of 2.0 steals per game, projected through four 29-game seasons, has her on pace for 232 career steals, which would put her second on the MSU Denver all-time list.
 
She already ranks 31^st in career steals and should be in the top 20 by season's end.
 
Part of the reason for Galloway's prowess at pilfering is her ability to set up the player she's guarding.
 
"I'll give her some space, and then try (to anticipate where she's going and make the steal)," Galloway said. "And if I don't get it, I'll try something else."
 
Galloway wasn't just lucky against CSU-Pueblo, even though her stat line included seven points and seven assists to go with her seven steals. The Roadrunners rolled into Las Vegas (New Mexico that is) the following night and Galloway was 3 for 3 from 3-point range.
 
"My shot has been kind of slacking, so it helped to hit those shots and get my confidence back," Galloway said.
 
Haave said that Galloway has done well in taking up some of the slack following the graduation of three-time All-RMAC point guard Jaelynn Smith.
 
"She went through a rough stretch a few weeks ago, where she wasn't doing anything bad but maybe wasn't playing as well as she could," Haave said. "And she wasn't really defending like she had been.
 
"I had told her, 'You need to lead this team.' But that's kind of a vague statement. So we talked about it and I said, 'Get back to doing what you do well.' Defend, run the offense and don't turn the ball over, take your opportunities to score.
 
"Ever since that conversation, I think she's been back to herself. We're asking a lot of her – not only with who she is replacing, but last year (Galloway is a returning starter) she could just defend and kind of be out there. Now it's run the team and be a leader, and you forget sometimes that she's just a sophomore. I told her not to put any extra pressure on herself and that she didn't have to do anything that she wasn't capable of doing."
 
Galloway is also averaging 7.8 points and 4.3 assists. During league play she is fourth in assists at 4.5 per game.
 
She said last weekend's performance has boosted her confidence and fine-tuned her focus on defense.
 
"The previous weekend helped me realize that my defense sets the tone for the whole team, no matter if I'm doing well on offense or not," she said.
 
That's important heading into a difficult road weekend.
 
"Mines is coming off a great weekend up in South Dakota (wins at Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines) and is really playing well, so that will be a huge challenge for us," Haave said. "They're tough to stop offensively, and they are sneaky-good defensively because they're so long.
 
"UCCS has had some games that it has played really well, they maybe just haven't been as consistent. But any game on the road is a tough game."
 
Said Galloway: "I feel like in the RMAC, you can win or lose against anyone. So it comes down to the little things. Coach has been talking about rebounding and defense, and that's what we're focusing on."