DENVER – Never one to look for preseason cupcakes, MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave has set up a non-conference schedule that will challenge her young women's basketball team.
 
It starts this weekend, as the Roadrunners travel to Denton, Texas, to face 19^th-ranked Angelo State (Texas) on Friday and 24^th-ranked host Texas Woman's on Saturday. Both games are at 3 p.m. MST.
 
"It will be a great measuring stick for us to see where we are, and we'll go from there," Haave said. "There is potential for a lot of growth with this team. I'm excited to see that."
 
Beyond this weekend, the non-conference slate also includes perennial power Fort Hays State (Kan.), ninth-ranked Eckerd (Fla.) and a solid Seattle Pacific. Fort Hays State is picked to finish fourth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Eckerd is coming off a trip to the Division II national quarterfinals, and Seattle Pacific is picked to place sixth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
 
"Our players understand it, and they're excited for the challenge," Haave said. "I've always been a big believer in playing good teams."
 
MSU Denver was chosen to finish seventh in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after going 16-14 overall and 13-9 for sixth in the league last year.
 
The Roadrunners have no seniors and some of their most experienced players are newcomers – junior college transfers Darla Hernandez, Jackie Pippett and Halle Hester.
 
Hernandez, a 6-foot center, was an NJCAA All-America honorable mention player at Northwest College (Wyo.), where she was also a two-time All-Region IX first-team selection. She averaged 16.2 point sand 7.5 rebounds last season.
 
Pippett, a 5-10 forward, was All-Region XI second team for North Iowa Area Community College after averaging 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds last year, while Hester is a 5-10 guard who earned All-Region IX honors at Laramie County Community College (Wyo.), shooting 37.6 percent from 3-point range while averaging 10.9 points over two seasons.
 
"They're adapting to our system, and adapting to Division II basketball," Haave said. "I think they're going to come along, and they'll be able to do what they're supposed to do shortly."
 
Another junior is point guard Mariana Silva Pereira, ticketed for an expanded role after coming off the bench the past two seasons.
 
Meanwhile, a sophomore class headlined by guard Mikylah Espinosa, forward Brianna Sealy, a sharpshooting guard Brooklyn Jones looks to build off experience gained last year.
 
Espinosa played in 24 games, starting 17, and averaged 7.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Sealy played in 26 games, starting 10, and averaged 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Jones played in 27 games off the bench and shot 37.8 percent from 3 (34 of 90) while averaging 4.2 points.
 
"We're expecting a lot of Mikylah," Haave said. "We had experience guards to guide her last year, but we don't really have that this year. We need her to give us more offensively and defensively.
 
"Same with Sealy. These last couple of weeks she's taken huge strides, and we're very pleased with that. And Brooklynn has always been a great shooter and she worked really hard this summer, and that's starting to show."
 
Also stepping into bigger roles are sophomore guards Ashlyn Yow and sophomore guard Shayne Young.
 
"We have a solid group of sophomores, and we're asking them to play like juniors," Haave said. "The plus side to that is that they're going to get more experience."
 
Amanda Byrnes, a 6-3 center, highlights the four-player freshman class.
 
"She has great length, she can get up and down the floor, has nice moves, good footwork – she's very skilled," Haave said.
 
RMAC play starts Dec. 1 at home against Westminster, and the Roadrunners will play perennial league powers Colorado Mesa, Black Hills State and Colorado School of Mines before Christmas.
 
"We're going to be challenged, but it's going to prepare us well," Haave said. "We just have to hang in there and keep growing, keep improving, and we'll be OK. I believe it will pay off."