DENVER – Down by 10 points in the third quarter, this game seemed perilously close to going the way a couple of others had for the MSU Denver women's basketball team this season.
 
Time for Coach Tanya Haave's best Knute Rockne speech? Or perhaps one from Haave's college coach, the legendary Pat Summitt?
 
Nope. Just time to get back to business.
 
"We're fine," Haave told the team. "We struggled all night scoring. (Colorado) Christian played good defense. We just had to keep playing together. We've had a tendency to let what's happening on offense affect us on the other end of the floor. We needed to buckle down defensively and get some stops.
 
"We got back in the game pretty quickly."
 
Allie Navarette scored six points in a quick 9-0 run after the timeout to pull the Roadrunners back within 36-35 and, after a back-and-forth final period, it was Navarette's free throw that was the deciding point in a grind-it-out 57-56 victory Tuesday over Colorado Christian.
 
"We had a long talk after (a loss to) Western (Colorado) about staying together, following the scouting report and not letting teams go on a run against us," Navarette said. "In the timeouts we were together and we had so many huddles on the court. We were encouraging each other and I felt like we put them on their heels and went on a run ourselves."
 
Once MSU Denver (2-3 overall, 1-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) narrowed thw gap, neither team led by more than three points for the final 14:30.
 
The last three-point lead was huge, though, as freshman Kendra Parra took a pass from Morgan Lewis and splashed a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:03 left to give MSU Denver a 56-53 lead.
 
"I love her," said Lewis, an All-RMAC honorable mention selection last season. "We're both from small towns. She's from an hour away from where I'm from. Right before that she told me, 'Kick it out.' I'm like, 'You got it. Let's do this. I know you're going to make it.'"
 
At the end, Navarette made the first of two free throws with five seconds left to give the Roadrunners a 57-55 lead. Then Colorado Christian was fouled but made only the first of two free throws with two seconds left. The Cougars got the offensive rebound but were unable to get off a final shot.
 
"I'll be in the gym tomorrow hitting 20 in a row so that doesn't happen again," Navarette said of her free throw miss. "My teammates were there to pick me up."
 
While Navarette – second among active NCAA Division II players in career free throw percentage – relied on her teammates in the final few seconds, there was plenty of relying on her Tuesday. She finished with a season-high 24 points and had nine rebounds – one short of having her 34^th career double-double (she leads active Division II players in that category).  
 
Navarette, who now has 1,482 career points, had 18 points, five rebounds and two steals in the second half.
 
"We ran some stuff for her at the high post and we were running some ball screens for her," Haave said. "And I think on some of the ball screens, where we got everybody up high, opened things up. We got her on one side where we could isolate her without any (defensive) help and she's sneaky at turning the corner and getting to the hoop."
 
Said Navarette: "We have a good motion offense and the guards were doing a really good job making good passes. And our other posts were executing the high-low and doing duck-ins."
 
Lewis, playing just her second game after opting out of the first semester, gave the squad a lift, too, with 10 points and 11 rebounds despite practicing only three times.
 
"She's a fighter," Navarette said. "She's there for you. She's hustling. I see her hustling and I'm like, 'Whoa, I need to hustle, too.' She pushes the tempo and makes good hustle plays for us. I love playing with her."
 
Said Haave: "I'm really pleased she's back. She gives us that toughness and work ethic that we need. She's willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. It's great to have her back, not just for basketball, but as a person, too. She's that glue for our team."
 
Maggie Justinak added 12 points, while Parra had nine points and eight rebounds as the Roadrunners got back on the winning track after losing three straight. They're looking to maintain momentum Thursday when they play host to South Dakota Mines in a 4 p.m. game that precedes a two-week break.
 
"It's just chipping away," Lewis said. "That's kind of how it is in life now, just chip away. Getting a win is good. We get our confidence back and now we come back out on Thursday."