DENVER – After a Tuesday night defeat, MSU Denver was looking for something a little different Friday.
 
The Roadrunners moved Morgan Griego back into the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 19, and that seemed to help do the trick.
 
The fourth-year forward scored nine first-quarter points to get MSU Denver off and running towards an 88-51 victory over New Mexico Highlands.
 
"It felt good," Griego said. "I've been battling (an injury) the last couple weeks, so I'm finally getting back to a little normalcy in playing. It felt good to go out there and do what I usually do for the team, which I've been struggling to do."
 
Griego wound up tying her season high with 14 points while making 6 of 9 from the field. She also added seven rebounds.
 
She is just one part of the Roadrunners' multi-faceted inside attack that includes Allie Navarette (18 points, nine rebounds, four steals) and Jaela Richardson (seven points, five rebounds).
 
In fact, it was Richardson, at her suggestion, who switched places in the rotation with Griego.
 
"To Jaela Richardson's credit, she said, 'Coach, I think I would be better coming off the bench,'" MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "That was really selfless, and she put the team first. It was a collaborative effort. I tended to agree with her, but I wanted to make sure that was going to be OK with her.
 
"And Morgan has been playing really well."
 
One more inside player stepped up, too, as Anais Bonnemaison had career highs of eight points and seven rebounds in just under 12 minutes of action.
 
"She's awesome," Griego said. "She works really hard in practice. For her to be able to step up like that and take advantage of the minutes she was given was huge."
 
Said Haave: "She had a really good game. She defends well and she got to the (free throw) line tonight. That was good to see. And Bri (Bailey) did well and Jordon (Heckert) did well, so that was all really good to see. It's great to give them some confidence."
 
The runaway win was somewhat expected as MSU Denver improved to 18-6 overall and 14-5 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Highlands dropped to 6-19 and 3-15.
 
But it was more than just the score that mattered.
 
"This wasn't really about them," Navarette said. "It was about us and where we want to go. Three games left (in the regular season) and then it's playoff time, so we're approaching each and every game like it's a playoff game."
 
Said Griego: "Especially coming off Tuesday. We weren't necessarily playing just for the win tonight. We're playing make a statement and to move forward and finish out the season strong and to go all the places that we've been working to go. To come out and create our own energy, to do things right, and to do things with a purpose … it was really important for us to come out and do that."
 
The Roadrunners shot 68.8 percent from the field in the third quarter and 50.8 percent overall while limiting the Cowgirls to 26.5 percent from the field.
 
Bailey, Heckert, Mariana Silva Pereira and Alex Carlton all scored seven (Silva Pereira matched her career high) and Kendra Parra had a season-best six assists.
 
It was MSU Denver's highest point total since scoring 101 against Highlands on Feb. 22, 2019.
 
MSU Denver wraps up its home season with Saturday's 4 p.m. Senior Night game against UCCS. Griego, Richardson (a fourth-year sophomore) and Navarette are among the six players to be honored.
 
"I'm wearing the waterproof makeup tomorrow because I'll be shedding a few tears," Navarette said. "I can't believe it's here already, but there's no team I'd rather be spending it with. It's going to be special."