COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Things are coming together for Bree Wellington.

The MSU Denver senior forward put up 18 points as the Roadrunners (8-11, 7-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) used a strong second half to defeat UCCS, 67-55, in Colorado Springs on Saturday evening. She made 10 of 14 free throw attempts in the win – continuing her massive improvement from the charity stripe – while adding seven rebounds and three steals.

"They couldn't guard her inside," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said of Wellington. "When she sticks to doing what she does well she's pretty unstoppable. We've got to stay with that. We're putting her on really tough covers on the defensive end as well."

One thing Wellington is doing well this season is shooting free throws – something she'd struggled with in the past. After shooting 45 percent from the line last season, Wellington is shooting a markedly better 74 percent (76 of 90) during the 2019-20 campaign.

The Roadrunners were neck and neck with the Mountain Lions (4-15, 3-10 RMAC) for the first half, taking a 26-25 lead at intermission on the strength of 11 points, five rebounds and two steals from Wellington.

With UCCS up 30-28 early in the third, the Roadrunners embarked on a 12-2 run that gave them the lead for good.

A Morgan Lewis bucket tied things up at 30 before Leya Harvey sank a 3-pointer to give the Roadrunners a slight edge. Mariah Schroeder nailed a jumper before a pair of UCCS free throws brought the margin back to three, but two free throws from Wellington and another Harvey 3-pointer gave MSU Denver its largest lead of the game to that point at 40-32.

"We were a little frantic and settling for a lot of jumpshots, then we started working it around and took some threes in the rhythm of the offense," Haave said of her team's offensive adjustments in the second half. The Roadrunners were 5 of 10 from long distance in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Mountain Lions clawed back late in the third, but five straight points from Jaela Richardson put MSU Denver back up eight, 50-42, to end the period.

An eight-point lead is a lot different than an 18-point lead, though.

The Roadrunners held the latter just two minutes and 58 seconds into the fourth quarter after bursting forth on a 10-0 run that put the game away. Capping that run, fittingly, was a bucket from Wellington – who has continued to prove herself as one of MSU Denver's most consistent performers during the 2019-20 campaign.

MSU Denver led by as many as 19 in the fourth before coming away with a 67-55 victory. The Roadrunners are currently eighth place in the RMAC with a 7-6 record in league play, while UCCS is tied for 13^th at 3-10.

The win was a true team effort, with solid contributions from a number of players. Maggie Justinak chipped in 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the field, while Harvey and Lewis had nine points each. Lewis added six boards, while Jaiden Galloway had six assists.

"It was great for us to bounce back from a disappointing loss," Haave said.

The Roadrunners will be back home next weekend, facing South Dakota Mines at 5:30 p.m. Friday before a 5 p.m. matchup with Black Hills State the following day.