DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team is making strides.
They just want to get there more quickly.
Playing a third straight national rankings-level opponent to open the season, the young, inexperience, and less-than-full-strength Roadrunners dropped a 64-45 home decision to Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Monday.
"I'm frustrated, and I think everyone is," MSU Denver forward
Brianna Sealy said. "We're tired of losing – tired of losing like that at least. So these next couple of games I don't think we're even worried about what the score is, we just want to go out there and fight. We want to do what we know we can do."
Fort Hays State, which improved to 4-0, led only 20-18 with 5:57 left in the second quarter after back-to-back baskets by MSU Denver's
Ashlyn Yow, but the Tigers gradually pulled away over the next 1 ½ quarters.
"Fort Hays is a really good team, and right now we're not," MSU Denver coach
Tanya Haave said. "We're still gaining an identity. We were able to play at the level we needed for about 15 minutes. We need to build that up to 20, then to 25, then 30 and beyond.
"We do need to be better, and we need to be better quickly. Everybody does, including the coaching staff."
MSU Denver's offense is still a work in progress, but its 45 points does represent a season high.
"Defensively, that was the best team we've played," Haave said. "Now we've just got to make the shots. We scored better, but we still need to do a better job of taking care of the ball, and of playing together."
The Roadrunners limited Fort Hays State to 35.5 percent shooting from the field, by far a season low for the Tigers.
"Not being able to score as much, we're going to have to defend a little better," Haave said. "We're only giving up 64 points, but for us right now, that's more than we can score. So we've got to keep games in the 50s."
The numbers are modest, but MSU Denver did shoot a season-best percentage from the field (33.3) and from 3-point range (4 of 17).
"We just need to figure out what we're doing on the offensive side," said guard
Mikylah Espinosa, who scored a team-high 11 points. "We were getting shots off, but they just weren't going in. We need to play hard defense, and that will convert into transition points."
Points off turnovers were big Monday, as Fort Hays State cultivated a 23-8 advantage, forcing 19 giveaways while losing possession only seven times.
"It's hard for us to simulate playing against really good teams in practice," Haave said. "We're pushing our team to be better while understanding that we're playing really good teams. That's where we need to be."
The path won't get any easier for the Roadrunners, who play host to preseason No. 9 (coaches poll) Eckerd (Fla.), a national-tournament quarterfinalist last year, at 3 p.m. Friday.
"Players are resilient," Haave said. "We just have to keep our heads up and keep moving forward. We'll get better as we get more experience.
"As a group, we'll put up with it until we're not going to put up with it any more. We've had that discussion. We might be getting closer."
Said Espinosa: "We've got to go out there with all we've got. We're not trying to lose. We don't want to lose to anybody else all season."
