Pioneers Clinch Top Seed in SBC Tournament and at Least a Tie for West Division Title DENTON, TEXAS - The University of Denver women's basketball team clinched the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and at least a tie for the West Division Title with a 53-44 win over North Texas Saturday in Denton. Denver improves to 18-5, 10-2 while North Texas falls to 14-9, 6-6.
All-America and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year candidate Misa Pavlickova (Prague, Czech Republic/Boulder HS) led all players with 19 points and eight rebounds to record her 19th straight game in double digits.
Pavlickova scored 11 of the Pioneers' first 15 points, including seven straight to give the Pioneers a 15-8 lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. Denver sputtered for three minutes to allow UNT to score five straight, bringing UNT back to within three points (15-13 at 7:58). Denver, the second best free throw shooting team in the SBC, was 8-8 from the free throw line, allowing the Pioneers to maintain a narrow lead for the remainder of the half, taking a four-point margin to the locker room (24-20). Pavlickova notched 13 points on 6-9 shooting in the first half, but was the only Pioneer to hit more than one field goal in the period (Nikki Weddle (Denver, Colo./Montbello) sunk a three pointer.
UNT quickly closed the gap in the first three minutes of the second half to tie the score at 26-26 at the 16-minute mark. Pavlickova gave the Pioneers back the lead with a layup at 15:13 and the teams traded buckets until midway through the period. The Pioneers put together a five-point run with just under 10 minutes to play and held a 46-40 lead with just three minutes remaining after Weddle converted a conventional three-point play. Denver extended its lead to 10 points by hitting its free throws and maintained the margin for the final score.
In a defensive struggle, Martha Dibella (Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe) held Jolie Mitchell, the SBC eighth leading scorer, to just seven points (seven under her average) despite playing the majority of the game on a sprained left ankle. Denver held UNT to 31 percent shooting from the field and caused 26 turnovers. The Pioneers survived pressure full-court press, and shot just 36.7 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers.
The Pioneers return home for a three-game homestand beginning with a rematch with West Division foe UL-Lafayette on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m., MST at Magness Arena.
