SALT LAKE CITY – Westminster used a 26-9 scoring run that bridged halftime to take over a game that MSU Denver had led for much of the first half, and the Griffins went on to a 66-54 victory Tuesday night in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's basketball.
 
Westminster's win overshadowed a significant career milestone for MSU Denver's Allie Navarette, who had two first-quarter rebounds to become only the 39^th player in the history of NCAA Division II women's basketball to record career totals of at least 2,000 points and at least 1,000 rebounds.
 
"That's a pretty amazing accomplishment, and I'm so proud of her for being able to do that," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "When you realize that there are only 39 in Division II history who have done that, you're looking at a very, extremely elite group. The consistency it takes do to that is what stands out.
 
"So that's one silver lining from this game. The other is that we can still grow, get better and learn from this game. You can still learn in late February."
 
MSU Denver led for 12:39 in the first half before Westminster finished the final 4:19 of the second quarter with an 11-2 burst to post a 32-26 lead at the break. Then the Griffins outscored MSU Denver 10-3 to open the third quarter for a 42-29 lead and extended it to 48-33 with 4:46 left in the period.
 
MSU Denver cut it to nine points late in the third quarter, but got no closer.
 
"We've just got to start playing with a faster tempo," Haave said. "We keep talking about it, but we're going to have to get our tempo up on offense in the halfcourt."
 
Tosjanae Bonds led MSU Denver with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Morgan Griego added 10 points and five rebounds, and Maggie Justinak chipped in with eight.
 
Navarette was held to four points (the second-lowest total of her 115-game career) and her two early rebounds. She now has 2,081 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career, which includes three years at Hawaii-Hilo and two as a Roadrunner.
 
MSU Denver, which had won four straight games and 12 of 13, lost for just the second time since Dec. 14 and is now 17-6 overall and 13-5 in the RMAC. Westminster, which beat MSU Denver 62-48 on Dec. 4, improved to 14-7 and 13-4.
 
"They're a veteran team and they found some things they could exploit," Haave said. "In the big picture, we can still fix those things."