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Mariana Silva Pereira brings the ball up the court against South Dakota Mines on Dec. 18, 2021.
Edward Jacobs Jr
Mariana Silva Pereira and MSU Denver were scheduled to spent 31 hours on a bus and travel more than 2,000 miles in eight days.

Women's Basketball by Rob White

@MSUDenverWBB: Roadrunners At Start of Long Road Trip

MSU Denver will play five road games in eight days

DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team's Magical Mystery Tour is underway.
 
An already unusually road-heavy month of January got even more expedition-like when two games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols were rescheduled for right in the middle of the month.
 
So, starting with a Thursday travel day to Colorado Mesa, the Roadrunners – living up their nickname – were scheduled to play six games in eight days, all on the road. MSU Denver players were to spend one night of the next 10 in Denver. They were to spend 31 hours on the bus while traveling 2,036 miles for games in Grand Junction, Colo., then Salt Lake City, then Pueblo, Colo., followed by Alamosa, Colo., then Colorado Springs, Colo., and then, finally in Las Vegas, N.M.
 
But news came Thursday that not all the trip will happen, as Saturday's game at Westminster was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
 
Still, it's a long trip, but one MSU Denver is actually excited about.
 
"We're embracing this," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "There's nothing we can do about it, and we're glad we have the chance to make up the games that were postponed. Whatever it looks like, we're going to do it. Whatever it takes is whatever it takes."
 
The extended road swing kicks off with two of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's toughest teams – Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Colorado Mesa (ranked 22nd nationally by D2SIDA) and then Tuesday at 5 p.m. at CSU-Pueblo (nationally-ranked earlier this season).
 
Mesa is 10-1 overall and 5-1 in the RMAC, with its lone loss coming to the Roadrunners on Dec. 5.
 
MSU Denver earned the 56-50 victory that day despite giving up 18 offensive rebounds, a stunning total considering the Roadrunners rank fifth in NCAA Division II with 30.5 defensive rebounds per game and 21st in rebounding margin (plus-8.7).
 
"Our rebounding numbers are good sign – our NCAA (Tournament) teams rebounded well and defended well (MSU Denver is also 22nd in the country in field goal percentage defense)," Haave said. "But we've talked ad nauseum about the 18 offensive rebounds Mesa got the first time we played."
 
While on the road, the Roadrunners are planning a movie night and other activities during an extended opportunity for team bonding.
 
"I believe our players will be very resilient," Haave said. "They played multiple games like this when they were younger."
 
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