CHADRON, Neb. – In need of a victory to keep its hopes of remaining alive for a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament, the MSU Denver women's basketball team went on a game-ending 15-4 run to secure a 69-59 road win Friday at Chadron State.
 
The Roadrunners trailed 55-54 with 5:52 to play, but got a conventional three-point play from Jaela Richardson to take the lead, and then got a basket from Morgan Griego, a Richardson layup and a Griego free throw to take command at 63-55 with 2:14 to play.
 
"Jaela and Morgan really recovered," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "They struggled in the first half, but they really came through at the end."
 
Chadron State made two free throws, but Mariana Silva Pereira hit a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down with 1:35 left, making it 66-57, to seal the victory.
 
"Mariana had a great game, five assists and then that huge 3," Haave said. "To have the guts and confidence to take that shot, that was great. She had a lot of deflections and things like that and really gave us a lift off the bench."
 
Richardson led MSU Denver with 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Griego added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists, four blocked shots and two steals. Alex Carlton scored 15 points. That trio of seniors, led by Richardson at 8 of 9, combined to make 19 of 29 from the field (65.5 percent). Griego blocked a career-high four shots for the second straight game.
 
As a team the Roadrunners (19-7 overall, 15-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) shot 49.1 percent from the field (26 of 53) and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds, helping them to an advantage of plus-16 on the boards (42-26) and helping them overcome 19 turnovers.
 
"Turnovers plagued us in the first half and for a stretch in the fourth quarter," Haave said. "But once we were able to stop turning it over we were able to get the lead and then we got a couple of stops.
 
"We played smarter defensively and tightened it up down the stretch."