DENVER – Give Maggie Justinak high praise for humility.
 
And high praise for coming through in the clutch.
 
With Adams State making yet another late run at MSU Denver, the Roadrunners' senior guard cashed a clutch 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, lifting her team to a 69-62 lead with 2:55 left in the game.

It kick-started a quick, game-clinching, 7-1 burst, and then MSU Denver held on for a 75-68 victory Thursday at the Auraria Event Center.
 
"I'm not going to lie … I'm surprised it went in," Justinak said. "There were three seconds left on the (shot) clock, so I had to jack it up. I said 'All right, if it goes in, it goes in.' I think that kind of sealed it."
 
Justinak could have easily feigned confidence in her big shot's ultimate result without being questioned. After all, she matched her career high of 17 points while sinking 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and for the season she's shooting a strong 38.9 percent (14 of 36) from long distance.
 
She's increased her scoring total in three straight games, including a 15-point night on Dec. 17, the Roadrunners' last game before a three-week holiday break that concluded Thursday.
 
"I feel really comfortable just attacking and, if I'm open, shooting the ball," Justinak said. "I love finding open players down low, and Allie (Navarette) and Morgan (Lewis) have been great at it, and Gabi (Lucero) is stepping up, too. Coach isn't asking us to do anything different, we're just finding more open areas on the court."
 
Justinak's contributions haven't gone unnoticed during the three-game winning streak that has helped MSU Denver improve to 4-3 overall and 3-2 for fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. She also had six rebounds and a career-high seven assists Thursday.
 
"She's really stepped up," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "You can see it in practice, and now it's transferred to the games. Seventeen and seven, and she had six rebounds. That's a pretty good stat line. I'm really pleased to see her playing well and shooting the ball well with confidence."
 
There were plenty of contributions across the board, though.
 
Navarette (18 points) and Lewis (10 points) each had season highs of 13 rebounds while compiling double-doubles. Lewis was one short of tying her career best of 14 boards.
 
Those two alone matched Adams State on the boards while helping the Roadrunners to a whopping 47-26 rebounding margin, which helped offset 23 turnovers. MSU Denver grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, turning them into 18 second-chance points.
 
"Too many turnovers, but rebounding helped us win the game," Haave said. "They converted our turnovers into points, generated offense off their defense. We'll see some of that against Fort Lewis (Sunday). So this was good to see tonight. We can learn from it, watch the film, see some of those turnovers and see what we can do better.

"A double-double from both of your inside players. That's pretty good. And Gabi is coming along, too."
 
Helping out on the boards was freshman guard Kendra Parra, who matched a career best of eight to go along with her 15 points.
 
Parra hit back-to-back second quarter 3s to start a 9-0 run that gave MSU Denver its first double-figures lead, at 34-24.
 
MSU Denver never trailed, and stretched its lead to as many as 12 points six different times, but Adams State repeatedly made comebacks.
 
After trailing 45-35 at halftime, and 52-40 midway through the third quarter, Adams State put together a quick 10-0 run to pull within 52-50.
 
The Roadrunners stretched the lead back to 60-50 at the end of the third quarter, and were up 66-54 with 7:32 to play. But Adams State went on an 8-0 run to make it 66-62.
 
"We just had to stick to the game plan, stick to our scout, and that's what we did," Parra said. "We got away from it a little bit, but then we got back on track and pushed to the end."
 
With the lead at four points, that's when Justinak hit her 3 to get the Roadrunners going again.
 
"It was a very competitive game and Adams State played really well," Justinak said. "We just played a little better. I think that's the way it's going to be throughout the whole RMAC season. We've just got to play a little better than our opponents and we can seal the deal."