GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Vaijayanti Bharkhada shot a 1-over-par 73 while earning her third straight top-10 individual finish on Saturday, leading an MSU Denver women's golf team that moved up one spot to tie for 12^th at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic.
 
Ten of the top 11 teams in the final standings are ranked in the national top 50, while for the third straight tournament MSU Denver finished ahead of least one nationally-ranked team.
 
The Roadrunners improved by eight strokes over Friday's first round while shooting 17-over 305 on the 5,950-yard Palm Valley Golf Club course, however they are lamenting a finish in which their four scoring players played the final three holes at 9-over. Had they played those holes at even-par, they would have finished ninth overall, and their second-round 296 would have been the program record for 18 holes.
 
MSU Denver finished at 313-305-618.
 
"The team played better today, but still struggled with the finish," MSU Denver coach Stef Ferguson said. "We gave a lot of shots back in the last three holes. It's nice to beat another ranked school, but today wasn't as good as we can be. We will reset and get ready for our next one Monday."
 
Bharkhada tied for ninth overall after shooting 75-73-148. Sydney Eye shot 76 Saturday to finish tied for 65^th in the 118-player field at 13-over.
 
"V had a great week this week" Ferguson said. "To finish top-10 in this field is really solid. She is so close to breaking par, it's fun to see her playing such steady golf.
 
"Syd also had a really good day today. She played steady all the way."
 
Winnie Shaw also tied for 65^th at 13-over after shooting 77 on Saturday, while Mackenzie Carpenter tied for 74th at 14-over and Isabel Botero tied for 80^th at 15-over. Botero shot 79 Saturday to win up as the fourth scorer.
 
MSU Denver is set to start its third tournament in eight days on Monday, when it plays at the two-day WT Desert Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.