DENVER – It's an RMAC women's basketball weekend, which means one thing for MSU Denver.
It's big.
"They're all big now," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Tanya Haave said. "Depending on what Dixie State does the rest of the way, we can control our fate if we keep winning. If we don't, we'll have to depend on someone else."
Heading into games at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Black Hills State and 4 p.m. Saturday at South Dakota Mines, MSU Denver is 10-13 overall and is tied with Dixie State for eighth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at 9-8.
As teams position themselves over the final five games of the season for a top-eight finish that earns an invitation to the RMAC Tournament, Dixie State holds the tiebreaker advantage over MSU Denver because of a head-to-head win.
The Roadrunners played both of this weekend's opponents at home two weekends ago, losing to South Dakota Mines 58-52 on Jan. 31 before bouncing back for a 62-53 win over Black Hills State the following night.
Black Hills State is 14-8 overall and is tied for fifth in the RMAC at 11-6.
"They're shooting the ball well from the 3-point line," Haave said. "We're going to have to defend the 3 well, particularly in transition. They'll shoot better at home, too. And we're giving up double-digit offensive rebounds (in four straight games and seven of the last eight). Sometimes we get away with it and sometimes we don't, and we've got to be more consistent there."
South Dakota Mines is 12-9 overall and is seventh in the RMAC at 10-7. The Hardrockers are the league's second-hottest team, with a seven-game winning streak that trails only the eight-game run that Colorado School of Mines is on.
MSU Denver will be looking to get one back against South Dakota Mines after being unable to hold on to a 14-point third-quarter lead in the first meeting.
"They've shot the 3 well and they are defending well," Haave said. "They've shown great toughness. And they have seniors playing like seniors."
MSU Denver continues to have multiple options, with a different player stepping forward each night. For instance,
Morgan Lewis had 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds last week in a Friday win over UCCS, then
Jaiden Galloway matched a career best with 14 points in a Saturday loss to Colorado School of Mines.
"We had a good film session Wednesday and good practices Wednesday and Thursday," Haave said. "We're hoping to carry that mindset over. We didn't have a lot of energy the second half against (Colorado School of) Mines, and we need relentless effort, getting 50-50 balls.
"If we can get everybody playing relatively well on the same night, we can be dangerous."
