Jan. 21, 2006

Box Score

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Sara Benham (Muleshoe, Texas) led the Pioneers with 13 points and Venice Adams (Luling, La.) grabbed seven boards, however the Pioneers were unable to post a road split, falling 65-46 to Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday. With the loss, Denver drops to 9-8 overall, 3-3 in the Sun Belt, while the Trojans move to 9-9 on the season and 2-3 within the conference.

While DU showed improvement on defense, the Pioneers continued to struggle on offense, shooting 31.7 percent from the field. In addition, UALR's 44-30 advantage on the boards gave the Trojans valuable second chances on offense.

"Our inability to box out and control the boards in the second half really turned the game in Little Rock's favor," said head coach Pam Tanner. "While these two losses are disappointing, there's still a lot of the conference season to go. Good basketball teams are always improving and that's what we hope to do with the rest of the season."

Despite playing without starting guard Heather Morris who was nursing a knee injury, the Trojans held a five-point advantage heading into the break in part to the sharp shooting of Jocelyn Love, who scored 12 in the first half, including two treys. Benham was able to keep DU in the game with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Both teams battled back and forth, but UALR's 23-14 advantage on the boards gave the Trojans a 29-23 edge early.

In the second half, the Pioneers tagged the first two buckets of the game to close the Trojan lead to two, however the Pioneers were unable to regain control. UALR's Renee Renz scored six points in a 10-0 Trojan run, for a 53-38 advantage. As time winded down, the Pioneers kept fighting with a trap defense that frustrated Little Rock, but the Trojans were able to fight through for the win.

Both Love and Renz recorded double-doubles with 18 points and 10 rebounds and 16 points and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Pioneers return home next week to host South Alabama Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m., followed by Troy Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Both games are the first in a conference doubleheader with the Pioneer men's team.