DENVER – Gritty. Gutty. Great.
 
The MSU Denver women's basketball team, facing a top-10 foe in first-place Colorado School of Mines, absolutely refused to lose Friday night.
 
Spending seemingly half the game scrapping for every single loose ball, from-on-the-floor scrambles to strong-arm rebounds, the Roadrunners fought their way to an impressive 74-67 overtime victory at the Auraria Event Center.
 
 "We definitely willed ourselves to a win," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "We would not be denied."
 
Jaela Richardson embodied that spirit, pulling down a career-high 16 rebounds.
 
So did Kendra Parra, who scored a season-high 21.
 
Ditto for Tosjanae Bonds, the 5-foot-5 defensive dervish who not only had four steals and a blocked shot while spending most of her night hounding 6-foot former RMAC Player of the Year (2019-20) Denali Pinto, but also converted two key three-point plays when being guarded by legitimate RMAC Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ashley Steffeck.
 
But, hey, those are just the numbers. Every Roadrunner was locked in and doing whatever it took – regardless of whether it showed up in the box score – to get the win that helped them improve to 14-5 overall and 10-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"It was hard work, and it took a lot out of us, but it's amazing that we did that and came together as a team," Richardson said. "We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game, but we battled and kept fighting and we won in the end.
 
"It definitely helps our confidence, but it also helps us remember who we are as a team, what we can do and accomplish together."
 
Said Bonds: "We all wanted the same thing, to play hard, to put it out there, and to beat them. We put it out there and we went and got it."
 
It wasn't a thing of beauty, which is probably why it was such a joy to see. An imperfect masterpiece.
 
"It wasn't perfect, clearly," Haave said. "But they're buying in. They're staying together. They wanted to win that game."
 
MSU Denver had 28 turnovers. Overcame it.
 
Squandered an eight-point lead with 6:38 left in regulation. Didn't matter.
 
Let Pinto get open for a game-tying 3 with eight seconds left that ultimately forced overtime. Wasn't a big deal.
 
Had to play the closing minutes of regulation and the whole overtime without its own RMAC Player of the Year in Allie Navarette, who had fouled out. Got through it.
 
"We talk about weathering the storm and staying in the moment," Haave said.
 
MSU Denver, which hauled in 15 offensive rebounds, grabbed three while controlling the ball for over sixty seconds late in regulation, and ultimately took a three-point lead on the first of Bonds' two big three-point plays with 17 seconds left.
 
Though Mines (17-3, 12-2) tied it on Pinto's 3, MSU Denver took control in the extra session, scoring first on Bonds' second three-point play with 3:38 to go.
 
Richardson made a free throw, then tracked down the rebound when she missed the second one – refusing to be denied once again. Morgan Griego eventually scored, capping a possession that basically lasted 49 seconds, for a 67-61 lead with 2:03 left.
 
Richardson got a defensive rebound and was fouled and made another free throw for a 68-61 advantage with 1:51 to go, and MSU Denver made 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to seal it.
 
Navarette finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, Griego scored 11, and guard Maggie Justinak had a season-high seven rebounds.
 
Mines came into the weekend ranked No. 13 in Division II in the coaches' poll and No. 9 by the media.

The Roadrunners will try to sweep the weekend in a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday against Regis.
 
"It's a huge win for us for things like the regional rankings, but now we have to back it up, and it's going to be tough," Haave said. "Regis is always a tough game for us, but I like that we're at home. And now we're going to have to have some other players step it up for us."
 
Though tied for fifth place in the league standings, MSU Denver has won nine of its last 10 games. Showing their potential, the Roadrunners are 4-2 against teams above them on the league ladder and only 6-2 against teams below them.
 
"Coach talked this week about having nine games left in the regular season, and our goal is to win all nine," Richardson said. "We're going to come in focused tomorrow and handle our business like we're supposed to."
 
Said Bonds: "We've got eight games left and we want that to be our winning streak."