SPEARFISH,  S.D. – Here we go again?
 
MSU Denver, which won last year's RMAC Women's Basketball Tournament as the No. 6 seed, opened defense of its crown as the No. 6 seed again Tuesday night, and went on the road to knock off third-seeded Black Hills State 56-50.
 
"Apparently we like being the six-seed," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "We'll take it. We're still playing, so we'll take it."
 
Tosjanae Bonds scored a season-high 21 points and Mya Jones added a season-high 14 as the Roadrunners advanced to a Friday semifinal against second-seeded Colorado School of Mines. The game will be played at top-seeded Regis as part of a doubleheader.
 
MSU Denver trailed by as many as eight points, the last time at 44-36 with 6:51 left.
 
But Bonds had a steal and scored, then hit a 3-pointer with 5:45 left to get the Roadrunners within 45-41. Parra made two free throws with 5:07 left and then cashed a 3 off a set play with 4:31 to go, tying the game 46-46.
 
Jones put the Roadrunners ahead with two free throws with 4:07 left and again on a layup with 3:32 to go, making it 50-48. That was MSU Denver's last field goal, but Bonds was 6 of 8 at the line the rest of the way as Black Hills State was 1 for 5 from the field and had two turnovers in the closing minutes.
 
"We showed a ton of heart and would never give up," Haave said. "It was awesome. We were just getting stops, and just kept at it. It was one play at a time, and then we got the break we needed at the end to get over the top."
 
Bonds hadn't scored more than 15 in a game this season, but she made 6 of 13 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range and 6 of 8 free throws. She also had six rebounds and matched her season best with five steals.
 
Playing at all was a game-day decision for Bonds, who was injured Saturday night.
 
"She looked pretty good this morning, and she said she thought she could play," Haave said. "We had her on a minutes count, but that went out the window when she was playing so well. She's going to be really sore tomorrow, but she played with so much heart tonight."
 
Jones, playing just her sixth game of the season, also added a season-best four assists and matched her season high with five rebounds.
 
"We had her start, and that was probably a mistake because she was a little too excited," Haave said. "But she really settled down and did a great job defensively. And we needed someone else to score, because people are going to expect Kendra (Parra) to score."
 
Parra added 10 points and 11 rebounds for MSU Denver, which improved to 16-13 overall. It was Parra's fourth double-double of the season and the fifth of her career. She now has 516 points this season, passing Heidi Keyes (1986-87) for the third-most in a season in program history. Parra also added three assists and two steals.
 
The trio of Bonds, Jones and Parra combined for all but 10 of the Roadrunners' points.
 
"It was a tough, hard-fought game," Haave said. "We hung in there against a tough, physical team. But we're a tough, physical team, too."