Nov. 22, 2002

Box Score

Senior guard Ashley Atkinson (Springfield, Mo./Kickapoo) scored 18 points in the University of Denver women's basketball's 65-49 loss to Texas-El Paso Friday night in front of 1,285 fans at Magness Arena.

Atkinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first half to help the Pioneers earn a six-point lead at 18-12. But the Pioneers scored just six more points in the half, while UTEP finished the stanza with a 12-6 run to tie the game at 24.

"When the game was tight and we had a chance to break it open, UTEP played with much more confidence and desire than we did," Denver head coach Pam Tanner said. "We knew that we needed to stop their top three players, but we didn't do that. Our defense needs to be much better."

In the second half, Denver fell behind when UTEP mounted a 12-2 run beginning at 8:36. The miners led 52-41 at the end of the run with 4:15 left to play. Atkinson hit her fifth 3-pointer of the game to bring the Pioneers back to within eight points, but, Kia Dowell responded with two treys of her own to give the Miners a comfortable lead.

Dowell scored 22 points on 8-16 from the floor, including 4-8 from long range. Vaida Zagurskyte added 15, and Dragana Zoric scored 14. Denver shot just 29.4 percent from the field in the second half, and 32.8 percent for the game. UTEP was 42.2 shooting on the night, and 46.7 percent in the second half.

Denver played most of the game with freshman point guard Amber Johnson (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) who replaced sophomore guard Tyesha Lowery (Arlington, Texas) when Lowery was sidelined for the season with an ACL in the Pioneers' first exhibition game. Senior Misty Staton (Duke, Okla), who also suffered an ACL in the same game, played 17 minutes, scoring two points and grabbing three rebounds.

The Pioneers will embark on a nine-day, four-game road trip beginning in San Diego with a Nov. 26 contest at the University of San Diego. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. (MT).