DENVER – The MSU Denver women's basketball team was taking care of business Friday night, steadily pulling away from second-division Chadron State for a 64-53 victory.
 
"We've had a lot of changes with players coming back from injury," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "It took a little while to get our timing and rhythm back offensively. And we were playing a team that had nothing to lose, and they were flying around, and we were just a little bit tentative – we knew we really needed to win."
 
Down 20-18 after the first quarter and leading just 33-31 at halftime, the Roadrunners pulled away with a 20-8 third quarter advantage and led by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter.
 
The Roadrunners improved to 13-12 overall and improved to 11-8 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
"We're all pretty happy," guard Brooklynn Jones said. "It was tough coming off two losses and it's nice to get going again."
 
While Kendra Parra was outstanding once again in a 24-point night, true freshman Jones chipped in with 12 points – two short of her career high – while making 4 of 10 from 3-point range.
 
Do you think Jones has the green light?
 
"Clearly she does," Haave said. "I tell her, if she's open and on balance, put it up. Having shooters like her helps. It frees up Kendra and opens up our inside game."
 
Said Jones: "I took shots when I was open. Some of them went in, and some of them didn't. My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball.
 
"I know my teammates are standing up (cheering on the bench) for me every time I shoot, and the coaches have my back. It's a good feeling."
 
Meanwhile Parra continued what truly should be considered an RMAC Player of the Year type season. She scored 24 points despite taking just 10 field goals. She made seven of those – including 4 of 5 from 3-point range – and made all six of her free throws.
 
In her last nine games, Parra has made 22 of 34 from 3-point range for an astounding 64.7 percent. She has also made 28 straight free throws and 71 of her last 73 (97.2 percent). She is now Division II's active career leader in free throw percentage at 89.5 (255 of 285).
 
"She's just amazing," Haave said. "She wants to take big shots, and she makes big shots. She's doing so many things and playing so hard. She's having a fantastic, amazing year."
 
Parra is averaging 18.9 points per game for the season. In her last six games she's averaged 22.0 points despite taking an average of just 11.3 shots from the field.
 
"I don't really think about it, don't pay attention to how many points I have," Parra said. "I just see the reads. If they go under the screen I shoot the 3, and if they go over it I drive. I've got some tricks up my sleeve."
 
MSU Denver looks to improve its playoff positioning on Saturday in a 4 p.m. Senior Night game against Colorado Christian.
 
"We just have to execute," Parra said. "We can't come in thinking it's going to be easy. We've got to play our game and do what we do."