DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team kept the wins coming Saturday with a 71-66 victory over Fort Lewis.
 
Behind Kendra Parra, who matched a career high with 28 points while making all 12 of her free throw attempts, the Roadrunners won for the sixth time in their last eight games to improve to 10-10 overall and 8-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"Kenny P. man!" guard Ashlyn Yow said, when asked the key to the game. "Kendra is a dog. Just give her the ball and it's going to go in."
 
Yow put the ball in a couple of times herself, making back-to-back second-quarter 3-pointers while scoring a career-high seven points. Brooklynn Jones, another true freshman guard, also made two first-quarter 3s. Yow had a game-high plus-15 rating in her 10 minutes of action.
 
"I knew we were going to need that from Brooklynn and Ashlyn," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "We had so many people with heavy minutes last night. And I'm so happy for her Ashlyn. She's been working hard."
 
Said Yow: "I finally knocked some 3s down that I haven't been hitting the last few games. Today they went in and now I'm on a roll heading into next week."
 
Parra, the RMAC's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, making her only field goal attempt (a 3) and all eight of her free throws. She's now made 37 consecutive free throws dating to Jan. 13, matching Allie Navarette (2020-21) for what is believed to be the program record.
 
"I don't know why people foul her," Yow said. "We just give her the ball and we know it's going to go in. She's clutch."
 
MSU Denver held its biggest lead, 38-28, at halftime. And though it never trailed in the second half, the lead fluctuated from comfortable to concerning.
 
"We kind of came out flat the second half, and they're pretty much in desperation mode," Haave said. "They didn't have anything to lose. We had an emotional game last night, and they had gotten blown out – so this was their game for the weekend. But we kept our composure."
 
Said Parra: "We just had to grind it out and find a way to win."
 
The Roadrunners are still in sixth place in the RMAC, but are only a half-game behind fifth place Westminster (9-6) and a game behind the fourth-place Adams State team (9-5) it beat Friday night.
 
"I feel like we're picking up speed at the right time," Yow said. "We're trying to run the table and see what we can do. It feels really good."
 
Peaking at the right time? Time will tell.
 
"I don't think we're there yet," Parra said. "We still have some people coming back from injuries. I still think we can only go up from here, and we're pretty much up there right now. I'm excited."