Dec. 10, 2005

Box Score

DENVER - Despite only shooting 32.2 percent from the field, the Pioneers used their defense to shut down the Boise State Broncos 51-55 in Hamilton Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Jenna Cole (Lincoln, Neb.) led all DU players with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Junior Tyesha Lowery (Arlington, Texas) added 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while senior forward Venice Adams (Luling, La.) chipped in 11 boards. Denver improves to 3-4, while the Broncos fall to 5-3.

Both Denver and Boise State struggled to find a shot from beginning to end, making the effort put forth on defense into the difference maker.

"Our defensive intensity and execution made all the difference in the game," said head coach Pam Tanner. "Both teams shot rather poorly coming off big games--us against Colorado State and them against Wyoming--but our effort on defense gave us the opportunity to win the game in the end."

Both teams got off to a slow start, forcing shots and failing to establish any sort of offensive rhythm. Boise State was the first to get on the board on a layup by Michelle Hessing. Pioneer guard Brooke Meyer (Denver, Colo.) answered back with a jumper from just inside the arc. The teams traded buckets, but a DU layup and two missed Boise State opportunities at the charity stripe gave the Pioneers the early 6-4 advantage. The Denver defense began to clamp down on the Broncos, forcing six Boise State turnovers and not allowing any second chance shots by BSU. However, the Broncos continued to work and got buckets on the inside by Hessing to cut the Pioneer lead to 13-14 at the 5:30 mark. The Pioneers were able to keep the Broncos off the board and freshman Andie Mason (Gilbert, Ariz.) drained a trey from the left side to give DU a 18-14 lead with 2:53 left in the half. Denver withstood a rally by the Broncos in the final minutes of the half and took a 24-18 lead heading into the locker room.

In the second period, the Broncos again recorded the first bucket of the half, but the DU defense came up with several big stops early. Cole was able to stroke the trey and push the DU lead to 33-26 at the 16:36 mark. The Broncos cut into the DU lead by capitalizing on several Pioneer mistakes on the offensive end, but Cole brought the Pioneers back with a bucket and a foul giving the Pioneers a 29-35 lead midway through the second frame. After four consecutive turnovers by DU, the Pioneers briefly lost the lead Sara Benham (Muleshoe, Texas) scored her first points of the afternoon during a critical stretch to give Denver a 47-43 lead. Just as the Broncos were gaining momentum Cole hit another 3-pointer and Adams added a point at the line to push the DU lead to 53-46 at the 1:18 mark. Sealing the defensive win for Denver was Adams, who took a charge in the final minutes to give Denver possession and the game by the score of 55-51.

The Pioneers take their two-game winning streak on the road next week, meeting Air Force Colorado Dec. 13 in Colorado Springs, followed by a trip to California to face San Francisco Dec. 16. Denver returns home Dec. 21 to take on Gonzaga at 7 p.m. in Magness Arena.