DENVER – MSU Denver will seek to extend its season this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The Roadrunners, 29-9 overall and 27-7 in the RMAC, earned the No. 2 seed for the tournament and received a first-round bye. They'll play the winner of an earlier game between third-seeded Colorado Christian and sixth-seeded Fort Lewis at 6:30 p.m.
 
The double-elimination tournament is being played in Grand Junction, Colo., where 15^th-ranked RMAC regular-season champion Colorado Mesa is the host.
 
"We're excited to compete and continue the season," MSU Denver coach Annie Van Wetzinga said.
 
The bye will also be helpful as the Roadrunners attempt to negotiate their way through the three-day tournament.
 
"It's an advantage with our numbers being thin," Van Wetzinga said. "If we show up, play good defense and have timely hitting, if we're sharp, we can beat anybody."
 
Since losing four straight to open the season against Colorado Mesa – the Roadrunners were in position to win three of the games – MSU Denver has gone 29-5. But the RMAC's top-to-bottom strength affects the top teams when it comes to key metrics used by the NCAA to determine potential NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
 
As a result, even Colorado Mesa is ranked only fifth in the region as Lone Star Conference teams hold the other seven positions in the South Central Region's top eight. MSU Denver, though second in the RMAC, has only the 12^th-best ratings percentage index in the region.
 
Thus, winning the RMAC Tournament appears to be the only way for MSU Denver to make the NCAA field.
 
"Getting the No. 2 seed was big," Van Wetzinga said. "We played so well in the conference season, played really consistently. We took care of business."