DENVER – What are the chances of a tournament like the RMAC and a team like the MSU Denver women getting together?
 
Not good?
 
Maybe.
 
But it's more like one in a hundred than one in a million.
 
So we're saying there's a chance.
 
Let's just say that should MSU Denver win its final four games of the regular season, the Roadrunners would have a more realistic shot at reaching postseason play than Lloyd Christmas did of getting together with Mary Swanson.
 
"We're not mathematically out of it," MSU Denver coach Tanya Haave said. "Is it a slim chance? Yes. But we're not out. And even if we are out of it at some point, we still need to keep playing hard, playing well, and looking to the future."
 
Heading into the final four games of the regular season, MSU Denver's late season run has put it at 6-12 in league play and would be 10-12 if it won out.
 
The top eight teams advance to the RMAC Tournament, and the only teams the Roadrunners have a chance of tying or finishing ahead of are ninth-place Fort Lewis (9-9), CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian (they are tied for seventh at 10-8).
 
But before saying it's impossible, consider that Colorado Christian probably isn't expected to win two of its next three games (Colorado School of Mines, and at Black Hills State) and plays MSU Denver in between. Should the Cougars lose the first three, they might have to win a pressure-filled game at South Dakota Mines (they would be expected to win of course) in the final game of the season, on the road, to get in. Otherwise, if the Cougars go 0-4, they would be 10-12 in league play.
 
Fort Lewis probably wouldn't be expected to win against Black Hills State or Colorado School of Mines, and even if it does win against South Dakota Mines, the Skyhawks would have to win at MSU Denver or would otherwise finish 10-12.
 
And, if CSU Pueblo somehow loses at Westminster, it would have to upset Colorado Mesa, UCCS or Regis to avoid going 10-12.
 
Assuming CSU Pueblo gets to 11-11 with a Westminster win, and that MSU Denver wound up tied for eighth with Colorado Christian and Fort Lewis at 10-12, then MSU Denver would win the tiebreaker for the final spots because if all that occurred the Roadrunners would be undefeated against the other two teams.
 
Now, all of that is overlooking the importance of the first game of the weekend for MSU Denver, which travels to Chadron State (6-16 overall, 4-14 RMAC) for a 5:30 p.m. game Friday.
 
Chadron State has lost eight of its last nine games (one of which it forfeited after throwing in the towel while trailing 63-22 in the third quarter at Adams State), and has dropped four in a row.
 
But the Eagles did stun MSU Denver 78-63 on Jan. 6 in an unsettling homecourt loss for the Roadrunners.
 
"Probably the most shocking loss I've had in 14 years here," Haave said. "We practiced well, had a good shootaround … and then the way we came out was shocking. Win or lose we need to go up there and play like we know how to play, and we'll see what happens.
 
"Our transition defense was poor, our turnover total was poor, we didn't handle their press very well. It was a game where I don't know what happened. But we're different now."
 
The Roadrunners travel back to the Denver area for a 5 p.m. game Saturday at Colorado Christian.
 
"Colorado Christian is battling to get in the tournament and will be tough on their home floor," Haave said. "They have to play Colorado School of Mines the night before, and hopefully that will help. They'll have some desperation, and we'll have to match that."
 
MSU Denver is 4-2 in its last six games, with an upset win in overtime at an Adams State team pushing for an RMAC championship in that run. Adams State, whom the Roadrunners face in the regular-season finale, is on paper the biggest obstacle to the hoped-for 4-0 finish.
 
The MSU Denver team that was humbled by Chadron State in early January has made major strides just to get where it is now.
 
And regardless of how the rest of the regular season plays out, some of what is happening now is building into next season.
 
"We have enough experience now that we can talk about, 'This is what you have to do to win,'" Haave said. "It's easy to sit there and say, 'Hey, I want to win.' But are you willing to do whatever it takes to win? That's what we need to establish."