DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team may be playing against a 1-9 team that it has beaten 12 times in a row over the past six years.
 
But the Roadrunners are taking nothing for granted in Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Chadron State.
 
"Chadron is another team that is better than the record indicates," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "They're playing a lot better since conference games started, and they're really starting to come around. And they're always tough at home."
 
MSU Denver is 4-7 overall and 2-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but the Roadrunners have faced one of the toughest schedules possible – their losses have come to teams that are a combined 58-17 (.773 winning percentage), and their three league defeats are against teams that are first, tied for second and tied for fourth in the RMAC.
 
In other words – for the most part – the schedule is quite a bit easier from here on out. In MSU Denver's 17 remaining league games, the combined record of its opponents (counting teams it will play twice both times) is currently 87-100 (.465). And worth noting is that a couple of those teams' overall records have also been inflated by non-conference schedules that were nowhere near as difficult as that of the Roadrunners.
 
In RMAC play, MSU Denver has already played (and will play again) Colorado School of Mines (10-1) and Black Hills State (9-2).
 
"That helps us at this point in the season," Haave said. "Clearly Mines is the most complete team in the league right now and Black Hills isn't far behind. But after that, it depends on the night for the rest of the conference, judging by the scores. We've experienced playing against the best two teams already – against Black Hills we came out flat and played them even after the first quarter, and against Mines we played with them the whole first half in spite of everything that we experienced that week (including key injuries).
 
"It's going to be a dogfight every game with the way conference is shaping up. And having played those teams before Christmas helps us see the light at the end of tunnel."
 
Still, losses are losses and Haave has the Roadrunners focused on fixing the frustrating factors that have cost them.
 
"We've got to better on offensive rebounds – we're giving up way too many – and we're turning it over too much," she said. "Those have been points of emphasis this week."
 
Haave has also worked with the team's practice schedule as a way to try to overcome its third-quarter throes.
 
MSU Denver has been outscored by an average of 17-13 in the third quarter this season, scoring fewer points than its opponents in that period in all but three games. The Roadrunners are shooting just 26.5 percent from the field in the third quarter, 23.1 percent from 3 in the third, and 63.3 percent at the free throw line in the third. Take out the third quarter and MSU Denver is shooting 41.3 percent from the field, 30.6 percent from 3 and 72.1 on free throws.
 
"We're trying to not have a lull in the middle of practice so that we don't have that lull in the middle of games," Haave said.
 
Meanwhile, Haave tweaked the starting lineup against Colorado School of Mines on Dec. 17, with forward Miza Gilberto returning to the lineup and producing eight points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Gilberto has twice scored in double figures this season and now has two double-figure rebound games as well. She's averaging 3.8 points and 4.8 rebounds overall.
 
"She's very athletic and she's coming around nicely," Haave said.