Feb. 11, 2006

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- Brooke Meyer (Denver, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 16 points, while Jenna Cole (Lincoln, Neb.) was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the second half, but it all came too late as Denver was unable to overcome a 20-point halftime lead by the Lady Raiders of Middle Tennessee, falling 77-56 Saturday evening in Murfreesboro. With the loss, Denver falls to 11-12 overall, 5-7 in the Sun Belt, while Middle Tennessee improves to 15-8 on the season and 8-2 within conference play.

The Pioneers faced a tough task against the east-division leader Lady Raiders, who entered Saturday's contest determined to shake off a 69-64 loss at North Texas that snapped a five-game winning streak. Denver, who also was coming off a 63-45 defeat against Western Kentucky, was looking for its first victory against MT since the 2001-02 season.

"While Middle Tennessee played hard on every play, we took off several plays in the game and let our guard down," said head coach Pam Tanner. "We had a much better second half effort and showed that we are fully capable of playing with anyone in this league. This was definitely a learning experience for our team and hopefully we can take something good out of it."

The fast-paced play of the Lady Raiders caught Denver by surprise in the opening minutes, allowing MTSU to launch a 16-6 run. The Pioneers also struggled to break through Middle Tennessee's full court press, leaving them limited time to set up their offense. Denver was able to pick off several MT passes, chipping the Lady Raider lead down to 26-20, but back-to-back layups by Lakira Boyd launched an 18-0 MT run, giving the Lady Raiders a 46-26 lead at the break.

For the half, the Lady Raiders shot a season-high 72 percent from the field, including 4-for-6 from three-point range. Leading scorer Chrissy Givens tallied 17 points, while Boyd added 10. The Pioneers shot only 37 percent from the field (10-27) and were out-rebounded 20-10.

Middle Tennessee brought much of the same in the second half, pressing DU out of their inside game, but cooled on the offensive end. The MT defense forced the Pioneers to the outside, where Cole kept Denver afloat. After hitting only 2-of-8 from behind the arc as a team in the first half, Cole was a perfect 3-of-3 in the second, keeping the Lady Raiders from mounting a run. While the first half deficit was too much for Denver to overcome, the Pioneers stepped up their game and finished strong, almost matching the Lady Raiders point-for-point in the closing period (31-30) on an improved .579 shooting percentage.

Denver finished the game shooting 45.7 percent from the field with Meyer (16 points), Cole (12 points) and Venice Adams (Luling, La.) (13 points) reaching double figures. The Pioneers struggled on the boards and were out-rebounded 36-19, but held a slight 25-24 advantage in turnovers to MT. Givens finished the game with 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting for the Lady Raiders.

Next up, Denver returns home and takes a break from conference play for a 7 p.m. matchup with regional rival Northern Colorado Feb. 16 in Hamilton Gym.