SALT LAKE CITY – The third time was the charm for MSU Denver.
 
The Roadrunners led most of the first half in one loss to Westminster, and led for nearly three quarters in another.
 
This time – in the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament – MSU Denver finished the job with a 75-66 victory over the Griffins.
 
"We were able to score just enough baskets and get just enough stops to get us over the top," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "We've talked a lot about just making plays, and we did that."
 
MSU Denver advances to a 7:30 p.m. semifinal game Friday against Colorado Mesa. The game will be the second of two semifinals to be played in Golden, Colo., on the campus of top-seeded host Colorado School of Mines.
 
MSU Denver, fighting to keep its hopes for a potential at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament alive, led for more than 70 percent of the game and played from the front from late in the second quarter forward, using a 9-2 run started by a Mariana Silva Pereira 3 to lead 34-29 at the break.
 
The Roadrunners, after shooting less than 40 percent in each of their two regular-season losses to Westminster, shot 45.3 percent on Tuesday, including 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) from 3-point range. The Roadrunners had shot a combined 20.6 percent from 3 (7 of 34) in the first two meetings.
 
"We were 6 of 9 from 3 in the first half, and that helped us," Haave said. "Because that's a team that is so skilled, that you've got to be able to score against them. You've got to hit shots."
 
Senior guard Maggie Justinak scored a career-high 18 points while making 5 of 9 from the field and all three of her 3-pointers as well as 5 of 6 free throws to lead the way.
 
"Maggie Justinak played like a senior guard," Haave said. "She really gave us a boost offensively and defensively. She was a huge spark for us."
 
Fourth-year forward Jaela Richardson added 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots, and fourth-year forward Morgan Griego added 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
"Jaela and Morgan did a great job for us and helped us keep pressure on them defensively," Haave said. "They were way too comfortable against us the last time we played them."
 
Griego's 3-pointer with eight minutes left pushed the Roadrunners' lead to 55-50 and started an 8-0 run that built the advantage to 60-50 with 5:17 left.
 
Westminster was unable to get closer than five points the rest of the way.
 
On Friday, the 20-8 Roadrunners will face a 23-5 Colorado Mesa team that is the tournament's second seed and is ranked 25^th nationally by D2SIDA and is receiving votes in the coaches' poll.
 
However, despite being the tournament's sixth seed, MSU Denver has won both head-to-head meetings with the Mavericks this season.
 
If it's hard to beat a good team three times, MSU Denver made a case for it Tuesday against Westminster. Now the Roadrunners will try to make a case against it on Friday.
 
"That's what we told our players all week, and now we're on the other end of it," Haave said. "I like the fact that we're playing them on a neutral court, but Mesa is a different team than the last time we played them. But so are we. Hopefully this win propels us because we played some championship-type basketball tonight – the intensity and the grit were there.
 
"I'm so proud of our team."
 
MSU Denver has reached the RMAC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2018.
 
"It's exciting," Haave said. "It's been a few years."