Dec. 4, 2005

Box Score

DENVER - For the second consecutive game, sophomore forward Sara Benham (Muleshoe, Texas) led DU with 15 points on 6-of-12 (.500) shooting and grabbed eight boards, but the University of Denver women's basketball team could not overcome Wyoming, falling 62-47 Sunday afternoon in Hamilton Gymnasium. Junior center Lauren Reini (Portland, Ore.) and senior forward Venice Adams (Luling, La.) added five boards in the Pioneer loss. Denver drops to 1-4 on the season, while Wyoming improves to 4-1.

"We played them even the first four minutes and we were in the ball game at halftime," said head coach Pam Tanner. "We did do some things well, but we still have some work to do. We missed lay-ups, which equated into momentum shifts for Wyoming, leading to buckets on the other side. We just cannot let that happen."

Denver jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead early behind buckets from Adams and trey by sophomore guard Brooke Meyer (Denver, Colo.). The DU defense kept the Cowgirls off the boards and forced them into turnovers, which turned into points for the Pioneers. However, the Cowgirls kept fighting, which forced Denver into several turnovers, then followed up with two big buckets from Jodi Bolerjack to tie the game at eight at the 13:17 mark. Meyer broke the tie with another three, but Wyoming answered back with a three by Dominique Sisk to keep the score knotted at 11 before a bucket from Erin Hicks put Wyoming on top. The Pioneers stayed with their up-tempo game plan and continued to pass around the perimeter before driving inside. Buckets by Reini and Ali Butler (Longmont, Colo.) at the post position kept the game knotted at 15 with just under four minutes left in the half. Junior guard Tyesha Lowry (Arlington, Texas) used her quick feet to force a steal and broke the tie with a layup at the 3:00 mark, but the Cowgirls made several buckets to take an 18-17 lead into the locker room.

Both teams came out aggressive in the second frame, with Wyoming scoring the first points of the half. Benham responded for DU with a bucket to cut the Cowgirl lead to 20-19. Denver used its inside-outside passing, along with a trey by Benham to tie the game at 22 at the 16:16 mark. Jenna Cole (Lincoln, Neb.) extended the DU lead with a bucket from just inside the arc, but Megan McDuffy responded with a trey to give the Cowgirls the one point nod.

Following a timeout, Wyoming broke out of the gates with a huge trey, followed by a DU turnover and foul, which materialized into a 30-24 Wyoming lead. The Pioneers would not be discouraged and benefited from buckets by Benham, free throws and strong offensive rebounding to cut Wyoming's lead to three with 12 minutes remaining. The Cowgirls pushed their lead to eight points, capitalizing on several Denver miscues, but a bucket by Cole brought the Cowgirl advantage back down to six midway through the half. Despite getting as close as four points, Denver could not close the game out, falling 62-47.

The Pioneers are back in action Wednesday Dec. 7 when they take on in-state rival Colorado State at 7 p.m. in Magness Arena. The game will be televised on a same-day delay at 9:30 p.m. regionally on Fox Sports--Rocky Mountain.