NEW ORLEANS, La. (Jan. 8) - Freshman Ashley Atkinson (Springfield, Mo.) came off the bench, again, to lead the Pioneers (8-4, 2-0 Sun Belt) with 17 points in the University of Denver's second Sun Belt Conference game, a 49-47 win over New Orleans (4-7, 0-1 SBC). It was the second win on the road for the Pioneers in their first season in the Sun Belt Conference.
"This was a huge road trip for us," said Denver head coach Pam Tanner. "Hopefully this win gave our team some confidence. New Orleans was picked right ahead of us in the preseason poll and I think our team was shocked to be ahead of the No. 5 team."
The Pioneers jumped out to a 16-2 lead before going through a six-minute scoring drought that allowed New Orleans to cut its deficit to seven points, 22-15, at the half. Denver pulled out to a 17-point lead early in the second half, 36-19, behind two big 3-pointers by Atkinson. However, the Pioneers allowed the Privateers back in the game, again, with New Orleans constantly chipping away at the lead.
Junior center Misa Pavlickova (Prague, Czech Republic) recorded her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pioneers, nine rebounds coming in the first half. The nation's No. 3 shot blocker also swatted away three UNO shots to maintain her 3.0 blocked shot average. Junior guard Melissa Garcia saw limited time off the bench, throwing in eight points and four assists.
"Our big test now is Arkansas State," said Tanner. "I want to encourage any women's basketball fan to be at our game on Thursday night against them. This next game will be a key factor in seeing where we stand in the conference."
Denver returns home to Magness Arena on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. against No. 25 Arkansas State.
