DENVER (Feb. 26) - The University of Denver Pioneer women's basketball team fell to the fourth ranked Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters 92-48 in Sun Belt Conference action Saturday night at Magness Arena. The loss ends Denver's five-game winning streak and extends to the Lady Techsters' win streak to 13.
Denver failed to capitalize on their first twelve possessions of the night and began the game 0-8 from the field. With the cold start, the Pioneers (16-8, 10-4 Sun Belt Conference) found themselves down by 20 points, 20-0, six minutes into the contest. Louisiana Tech (23-2, 14-0 SBC), on the other hand, had their game in overdrive and extinguished any possibility of an upset quickly. Freshman center Misty Staton (Duke, Okla.) scored Denver's first bucket of the game with 13:40 left in the first half, but it was too little too late at that point.
The Lady Techsters' defensive pressure suffocated the Pioneer offense throughout much of the first half, they cut off all passing lanes and out-hustled Denver on the boards, out-rebounding them 30-21 in the first half, with 22 of those coming from the defensive end of the floor. The Pioneers didn't help their cause shooting only 13% from the field and turning over the ball 12 times in the first 20 minutes of play. Denver was held scoreless for over 13 minutes of the first half, while Louisiana Tech built a 36-point lead, 49-13, going into the locker room.
Denver's nine-minute scoreless drought ended at 18:51 of the second half with a basket by senior forward Candy Benson (Wilton, Conn.) that ignited a stagnant Pioneer team. Tech continued its attack and built its largest lead of the game to 45 points with 7:34 left to play. Denver kept their composure throughout the game and played hard until the final buzzer, but they just could not find a way to stop the Lady Techster onslaught.
Junior center Misa Pavlickova (Prague, Czech Republic) was the leading scorer for the Pioneers with 10 points and seven boards. Tamicha Jackson and Betty Lennox each scored 20 points for the Lady Techsters and Takeisha Lewis hauled in 11 rebounds. For the game, Denver shot 23% to Tech's 57% and the Techsters outplayed Denver off the glass, 49-41.
"There is no question that this team is one of the best in the country," said Denver coach Pam Tanner. "I think it is a victory in and of itself just to be on the court with this team. We earned a moral victory tonight by playing hard the entire game and keeping our composure until the end."
Denver will travel to play Arkansas State on Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. (MST).
