DENVER - Junior Nikki Weddle (Denver, Colo.) and senior Michaela Pavlickova (Prague, Czech Republic) each scored 20 points and junior Ashley Atkinson (Springfield, Mo.) added 19 points as the University of Denver women's basketball easily defeated Florida International 81-64 in a Sun Belt Conference match-up Saturday night at Magness Arena. The win, Denver's 12th consecutive and 12th straight at home, improves the Pioneers to 20-5, 12-2 in Sun Belt Conference play. Florida International falls to 18-7, 10-4. Denver's 20 wins are the most earned by a women's basketball team since the 1995-96 team finished 21-7 as a Division II program.
The Pioneers opened the contest with a 10-2 run in the first two and a half minutes and never looked back. Denver, who never trailed in the game, quietly built an 11 point lead midway through the half, led by Pavlickova and sophomore Ashley Atkinson (Springfield, Mo.) who each contributed 12 points to the cause. The Golden Panthers kept the game within striking distance but went cold for a span of three and a half minutes while the Pioneers added six unanswered points and increased their lead to 13, 28-15 with 9:03 left in the half. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch before Weddle's highlight layup at the buzzer that gave Denver its largest lead of the half, 42-27.
Florida International came out in the second half with back-to-back field goals while the Pioneers were unable to find the bottom of the net. Despite failing to score a basket in the first four minutes of the second frame, Denver's defense played strong and held onto its double-digit lead. The Pioneers responded with a 12-4 run over a span of four minutes to build a 19-point lead, 58-39 with 11:31 remaining. The Golden Panthers regrouped and answered back with an 8-2 run to pull within 11, 66-55 with 5:22 left to play, but they would get no closer.
Weddle took control of the offense down the stretch, scoring 13 of her 18 second-half points in the final 4:05 of the game to give the Pioneers their final margin of victory, 81-64.
Despite being out-rebounded 39-33 in the game, Denver out-shot the FIU 47 percent to 40 percent and caused 15 Golden Panther turnovers.
Denver will put both of its 12-game winning streaks on the line next Thursday, February 22 when they host Sun Belt Conference foe South Alabama in the second game of a double-header. The men will tip-off at 6 p.m., and the women will begin at approximately 8 p.m.
