DENVER – Move over Laolu Oke, there's another beast on the boards for MSU Denver.
 
Morgan Griego pulled down a career-best 19 rebounds – one shy of Oke's program record on the men's side – as the MSU Denver women flexed their inside muscle in an impressive 56-50 bounce-back victory over 13^th-ranked Colorado Mesa on Sunday at the Auraria Event Center.
 
"She wanted to try to compete with Laolu last year," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said of Griego said. "Rebounding is effort. It's grit. All those things. That's who Morgan is."
 
Griego, Jaela Richardson and Allie Navarette proved to be too much inside against Mesa's man-to-man defense, combining for 35 points and 32 rebounds.
 
Griego had nine points to go with her 19 rebounds. Her rebound total was the most by an MSU Denver women's basketball player since Cassondra Bratton snared 20 in a 57-39 win at Regis on Feb. 26, 2011.
 
She's got a ways to go to get that program's single-game record, though. Holly Roberts had 27 against Regis on Feb. 23, 1991.
 
"Morgan is a hard worker and a grinder," Richardson said. "Nineteen rebounds? That's insane."
 
Griego, whose previous best was 14 rebounds, set a goal to grab 10 Sunday.
 
"It was just really being intentional about being in the right spot, Griego said. "When I see a shot going up, it's making the extra effort. In a couple of games this year I've been in a little bit of foul trouble and was a little more hesitant."
 
The Roadrunners, picked to finish third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, wound up with a home split in the first weekend of league play, knocking off the second-choice Mavericks just 24 hours after a disappointing loss to Westminster, picked to finish fifth.
 
Griego took it personally.
 
"A lot of times when I have a crappy performance the night before, I need to re-focus, and it's usually rebounding that I need to work on," she said. "That's what I strive for, and when I focus on my rebounding, it helps a lot."
 
Holding a 52-50 lead, Richardson drove to the basket and scored to put the Roadrunners in a more commanding position with a four-point advantage with 60 seconds to play.
 
"I had a one-on-one option and she struggled to guard me all game, so I just took it to the rim and it worked out," Richardson said.
 
Mesa, trying to extend its unbeaten 7-0 start to the season, failed to score and Griego – naturally – grabbed the rebound and was fouled. She made both free throws with 30 seconds left and the game was essentially over.
 
Richardson had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Navarette – the RMAC's returning Player of the Year – had a 13 and six.
 
It wasn't just Griego who took the Westminster loss personally, of course.

"It's such a big difference," Griego said. "We came out and said, 'We're not losing twice, and it doesn't matter who we're up against. And we got it done. It was a team effort. We played much better as a team today."