Feb. 28, 2004

Box Score

The University of Denver women's basketball team prevailed in its last regular-season game over New Orleans, 71-61, at Hamilton Gym. Denver finished the regular season at 13-14, 6-9, while New Orleans fell to 10-17, 5-10. The game was senior day, and a must-win game to salvage Sun Belt Conference post season tournament hopes.

Denver got out to an early lead in the first half, and built a 17-point advantage in the second half before New Orleans got within seven points midway through the second period. But, the Pioneers were able to fight off the Privateers come back attempts to earn a 10-point victory and keep their post season conference tournament hopes alive.

"I'm proud of the way we played today," Denver Head Coach Pam Tanner said. "The will to win was there and I think we did a good job of fighting off the New Orleans scoring runs when we needed to. I think the three seniors has a lot to do with the way the team played. They did not want to end their college careers at home."

Six Pioneers scored in double figures led by senior Ragan Neblett (Arvada, Colo.) and Tyesha Lowery (Arlington, Texas) with 13 points apiece. Tasha Jones (San Antonio, Texas) and Sarah Cyran (Broomfield, Colo.) added 12, and senior Stephanie Hart (Shoreline, Wash.) and freshman Kaitlyn King (Albuquerque, N.M.) contributed 10. New Orleans was led by Monique Taylor with 16 points.

After leading by 11 points at halftime, Denver came out strong in the second half to score the first six points and push its lead to 17 points (40-23). New Orleans cut the lead to seven points midway through the half using a 17-7 run to come within 47-40.The Pioneers responded with a seven-point outburst capped by Tasha Jones' three pointer as the shot clock expired. With eight minutes remaining, Denver maintained a 54-40 lead. New Orleans made another run to cut the Pioneer lead to eight points at 62-54 with two minutes to play. Once again, Jones converted a conventional three-point play to give Denver a 65-54 cushion.

With a minute to play, Denver led 65-56, and UNO was forced to foul. Lowery, Hat and King each made two free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for Denver.

In the first half, Denver scored 10 straight points to take an early 10-4 lead with just five minutes off the clock. Denver continued to build 22-8 lead, limiting the opponent to two field goals. Ragan Neblett capped the Pioneer surge with a three pointer. New Orleans came back to cut the Denver lead to just five points (26-21) before the Pioneers responded with six straight points to rebuild their lead to 11 points at 32-21. Denver finished the half with a 34-23 advantage. Denver shot 46.9 percent from the field in the first half, and limited its opponent to 30.8 percent.

Denver kept its Sun Belt Conference tournament hopes alive with the win, moving ahead of New Orleans in the standings. The Pioneers remain tied for fourth in the West Division standings with New Mexico State who plays East Division leader Arkansas State tonight.