DENVER – No one is saying that the MSU Denver women's basketball offense was a well-oiled machine for the opening weekend of the season.
 
But overlooked is the fact that the Roadrunners' defensive effort wasn't too bad at all. And that's half the battle.
 
"We're making people shoot over us," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "There are some definite breakdowns – we could help each other more, we need to stay in front of the player we're guarding a little better sometimes – but we're making teams take tougher shots, some off-balance shots.
 
"We're not getting outrebounded a whole lot – you're going to get out-rebounded when you're not shooting well.
 
MSU Denver held nationally-ranked foes Angelo State (Texas) and Texas Woman's to identical 37.5-percent shooting nights from the field, comfortably below the Roadrunners' goal of 40 percent or less, and to fewer than 70 points each.
 
Still, its own offensive struggles contributed to MSU Denver's losses by 25 and 30 points, respectively.
 
They'll try to get things sorted out this week against more high-level foes: Fort Hays State (Kan.) at 2 p.m. Monday, Eckerd (Fla.) at 3 p.m. Friday, and Seattle Pacific at 1 p.m. Saturday. All three games will be played at the Auraria Event Center.
 
MSU Denver got back to work on those same Auraria Event Center courts this past week, taking advantage of the eight-day break between games against Texas Woman's (now ranked No. 6 in Division II by the D2SIDA) and Fort Hays State, whose 3-0 start includes a win over then-No. 2 (coaches' poll) Minnesota State-Mankato.
 
"It's been very helpful," Haave said. "We've had very productive practices. As a young team, we're not getting as much done as you normally would every day. But we're getting one thing done each day that we want to. And we've really focused on us all week."
 
Fort Hays State, picked to finish fourth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, could be in line for a national ranking of its own after the Minnesota State-Mankato win, especially after Sunday's win over previously 5-0 Colorado Mesa.
 
"Fort Hays is long, skilled," Haave said. "It's another good test for us. We're at home, and we need to be excited about that."
 
After Monday's game, Haave will turn her full attention toward Eckerd (2-1) and Seattle Pacific (1-3). Eckerd reached the Division II national quarterfinals last season and was ranked No. 9 in the preseason coaches' poll.
 
"Three more tough games," Haave said.
 
The trial by fire for a team where the veterans are sophomores figures to provide the necessary seasoning prior to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play.
 
"We were playing really good teams last week that have been playing together for two or three years," Haave said. "We've played together for two games. So I really tried to emphasize that with our team.
 
"We're not 30 points worse than Texas Woman's, but that's where we were that day. That's the measuring stick we needed, and it's made a definite difference in practice in terms of sense of urgency, and understanding of what it takes. Bigger picture, down the road in a long season, the hope is that it will be very beneficial. The players responded extremely well in practice this week."
 
As for the offense, that's still a work in progress. The Roadrunners are averaging only 37.5 points per game.
 
"We're new, and looking at the film, we're just a team that's not sure offensively," Haave said. "The key is for us to stay together and use all of us. It's not up to one person. We played a lot of one-on-one. The assist totals have to go up. If we work for better shots, then our shooting percentage will go up.
 
"The bigger thing is to get us playing together and with confidence on the offensive end. It doesn't mean we're going to be scoring 75 points all of a sudden, but we've got to get to the 55- to 60-point mark to give us a chance to stay in the game."
 
One emphasis figures to be getting the ball to one of its sophomore "veterans" in forward Brianna Sealy. Sealy averaged 7.0 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent (6 of 9) from the field.
 
"We just don't get her enough shots," Haave said. "She took nine shots in two games, and she should be taking nine to 13 a game."