DENVER, COLO. --- The South Dakota School of Mines women's basketball team went up against a hot shooting MSU-Denver opponent Friday night as the Lady Hardrockers opened Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on the road in Denver, Colo., where the Roadrunners defeated SD Mines, 66-47.

It was a tight contest through the first quarter and a half, but MSU-Denver could not miss from the perimeter, capitalizing on some great long-range shooting, including a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to lead, 37-24, at the half.

The Roadrunners distanced themselves in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady 'Rockers, 16-7, and closed out the period, up by 22 points, 53-31.  The Hardrockers did outscore MSU-Denver in the final frame, 16-13, but the deficit was too much to come back from.

SD Mines shot 31 percent from the field, making good on 14-44 shots, including four three-pointers and converted 15-24 from the free throw line for 63 percent. The visitors came down with 30 rebounds, earned nine assists, four blocks and four steals.

The Roadrunners put up 20-53 shots for 38 percent, including eight from three-point range and made good on 18-25 free throws. They grabbed 41 rebounds, had 12 assists, six steals and two blocks.

Individually for the Hardrockers, sophomore Marissa Hirchert paced her team with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals. Freshman Molly McCabe also had 10 markers and added two rebounds. Senior Megan Rohrer had a great game defensively, recording four blocks and six rebounds and added eight points.

MSU-Denver was led by Georgi Ohrdorf with 17 points, Jenae Paine added 13 points and J'Nae Squires-Horton put up 11.

The loss drops SD Mines to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in the RMAC. Next up, the Hardrockers challenge the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Saturday at 5:30 p.m.