DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team nearly turned the tables Saturday night.
 
Unable to hold onto a 15-point third quarter lead while playing short-handed in a disappointing Friday night loss to Westminster, the Roadrunners nearly overcame a 13-point third-quarter hole Saturday before falling to Colorado Mesa, 65-60.
 
"It just comes down to making key mistakes at key times," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "I love the fight. Now it has to be the fight, plus the execution."
 
Trailing 46-33 with 3:30 left in the third quarter, the Roadrunners chipped away at Colorado Mesa.
 
Playing short-handed again – once again without point guard Jaiden Galloway, the RMAC leader in minutes played, for a second straight night – the Roadrunners waited until the closing minutes to unleash a game-changing fullcourt press.
 
Finally, MSU forged a tie on a three-point play by Tosjanae Bonds with 1:17 left.
 
But Mesa got a free throw, scored again after a turnover, then made two more free throws after a 3-point miss by the Roadrunners to close it out.
 
Kendra Parra led MSU Denver once again with 23 points, and tied Miza Gilberto with a team-best eight rebounds.
 
While MSU Denver went into the weekend with a five-game winning streak that had them on the cusp of potentially playing for a top-four seed and homecourt for the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament, two close home losses have them at 12-12 overall and 10-8 for sixth in the league.
 
Still there are four regular-season games remaining and a chance to move up.
 
"We'll just have to regroup and get ready for next week," Haave said.