Dec. 19, 2004

Box Score

DENVER - Junior Venice Adams (Luling, La.) scored 13 points and pulled down 11 boards but it was not enough as the University of Denver women's basketball team fell to Southern Methodist University, 60-42, in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Pioneer Classic on Sunday in Magness Arena. The loss drops Denver's record to 2-7, while the Mustangs improve to 8-1.

"Southern Methodist played at a different tempo then us defensively today," head coach Pam Tanner said. "Their tempo bothered us and we did not take as many good shots. They were able to disrupt our pace on offense as well, making us force lots of shots. However, overall, I'm pleased with our progress and our effort and I think we are going to be a very good team by the time it's all said and done."

Adams made two layups in the first four minutes of an intense first half before Southern Methodist opened an 11-2 run. Newcomer Cassondra Bratton (Arvada, Colo.) hit three free throws, but still left the Pioneers trailing 13-9, with 11:31 remaining. The Pioneers started an offensive drive with consecutive long-range buckets from Bratton and senior Sarah Cyran (Broomfield, Colo.), to lessen the gap to 21-17, with 6:04 left to play in the first. Southern Methodist forced Denver to commit 10 turnovers in the first half, and Janielle Dodds scored three baskets in the last four minutes to extend the Mustangs' lead to 10. The Pioneers trailed 27-17 at the half.

Adams picked up where she left off in the second half, scoring six points in the first seven minutes of the period. Adams drove to the basket and forced one in to put the score at 37-26, with 13:13 left to play. The Mustangs' Dodd and Denver's Adams traded basket-for-basket for over a minute, but Southern Methodist held on to a 45-32 lead. Senior Tasha Jones (San Antonio, Texas) sunk a 3-pointer and a free throw, and Bratton followed with a three pointer to cut the Mustang's lead to 10 with 3:55 left in the game. Free throws made by Southern Methodist's Kendall Shead and Katy Cobb clinched a 60-42 victory for the Mustangs.

Southern Methodist's Shead led all scorers with 18 points. Adams led Denver with 13 points, while teammate Bratton dropped in 12. Adams also pulled down 11 boards for her second double-double of her career. The Pioneers shot 26 percent (14-53) from the field, compared to the Mustangs' 38 percent (24-64). Denver scored a season-low 42 points for the game.

Earlier in the day, Richelle Parks scored 26 points and pulled down 16 boards to lead the University of Texas-San Antonio to a 75-59 win over the University of Tennessee-Martin in the consolation game of the University of Denver Wells Fargo Classic. The win improved the Roadrunners' record to 4-5, while the Skyhawks fell to 1-8. Texas-San Antonio's defense controlled much of the game, committing five blocks forcing Tennessee-Martin to shoot 21 percent (7-33) from the field in the first half. Parks led all scorers with 26 points, while teammate Terrie Davis added 12 points. The Roadrunners had seven blocks and forced the Skyhawks to commit 11 turnovers in the game. Texas-San Antonio shot 42 percent (25-59) from the field, while Tennessee-Martin managed only 28 percent (18-65).

The Pioneers will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 29, when they begin a five-game away schedule. Denver will travel to the West Coast to face Eastern Washington at 8 p.m.

Denver Wells Fargo Classic All-Tournament Team
Venice Adams - Denver
Janielle Dodds - Southern Methodist
Kendall Shead - Southern Methodist
Richelle Parks - Texas-San Antonio
Danielle Page - Tennessee-Martin



Newspaper Box Score
Southern Methodist vs Denver
12/19/04 2:00 p.m. at Magness Arena
At Magness Arena
SOUTHERN METHODIST 60, DENVER 42
SOUTHERN METHODIST (8-1)
Shead, Kendall 6-13 5-6 18; Dodds, Janielle 7-16 0-2 14; Cobb, Katy 3-7 3-4
9; Davis, Sarah 2-10 1-2 5; Roberts, Shonte 2-4 1-3 5; Greenard, Joslyn 2-5
0-0 5; Barker, Brittany 2-3 0-0 4; Shepherd, Sharee 0-4 0-0 0; Gross, Katie
0-2 0-1 0. Totals 24-64 10-18 60.
DENVER (2-7)
Adams, Venice 6-11 1-2 13; Bratton, Cassondra 2-6 7-8 12; Jones, Tasha 2-11
1-2 6; Cyran, Sarah 2-6 0-0 5; Meyer, Brooke 1-10 0-0 3; Whetten, Jennifer
1-4 0-0 3; Benham, Sara 0-5 0-1 0. Totals 14-53 9-13 42.
Southern Methodist............   27   33  -   60
Denver........................   17   25  -   42
3-point goals-Southern Methodist 2-11 (Shead, Kendall 1-3; Greenard, Joslyn
1-2; Davis, Sarah 0-3; Shepherd, Sharee 0-1; Gross, Katie 0-2), Denver 5-20
(Meyer, Brooke 1-6; Cyran, Sarah 1-3; Jones, Tasha 1-4; Bratton, Cassondra
1-3; Whetten, Jennifer 1-4). Fouled out--Southern Methodist-None,
Denver-None. Rebounds-Southern Methodist 46 (Davis, Sarah 9; Dodds, Janielle
9), Denver 40 (Adams, Venice 11). Assists-Southern Methodist 16 (Cobb, Katy
7), Denver 8 (Meyer, Brooke 2; Jones, Tasha 2; Benham, Sara 2). Total
fouls-Southern Methodist 15, Denver 15. A-346
ID-291214
All tournament team: Janielle Dodds, SMU; Kendall Shead, SMU; Venice Adams,
DEN; Richelle Parks, UTSA; Danielle Page, UTM
MVP Dodds, SMU