Feb. 8, 2006

Box Score

DENVER - Tyesha Lowery (Arlington, Texas) scored a team-leading 11 points and Sara Benham (Muleshoe, Texas) added eight, however it was not enough to overcome Western Kentucky, who defeated Denver 63-45 Wednesday evening in Magness Arena. With the loss, Denver's two-game win streak came to a close and the Pioneers fall to 11-11 overall, 5-6 in the Sun Belt. Western Kentucky grabs its sixth straight win, improving to 17-6 on the season and 7-2 within the conference.

"Tonight we lost to a very good basketball team," said Pioneer head coach Pam Tanner. "Western Kentucky is No. 28 in the RPI and their play tonight was very deserving of the rating. We were forced to play their game early and adjust to their tempo, which made all the difference."

The Pioneers controlled the tip, but it was the Lady Toppers that controlled everything else in the first half. WKU went a quick 6-0 run to open the game but a trey by sophomore guard Brooke Meyer (Denver, Colo.) ended the run to get the Pioneers on the board. DU failed to find a rhythm against Western Kentucky and the Lady Toppers continued to control the pace for a 36-18 lead at the break. For WKU, it was all Crystal Kelly in the first half, who scored 12 points, while Tifany Zaragoza and Tiffany Porter-Talbert added five. Lowery led Denver with eight points. The Lady Hilltoppers out-rebounded the Pioneers 22-15 in the opening stanza and had eight turnovers to the Pioneers 14.

DU showed more composure in the second half, matching WKU in points with 27. The Pioneers stopped several potential scoring runs by Western Kentucky, but could not gain any momentum as the Lady Hilltoppers captured their sixth straight win.

Both teams suffered uncharacteristic nights as Western Kentucky shot only 38.5 percent from the field. Pioneer senior Venice Adams (Luling, La.), who leads Denver in scoring in conference play, was held scoreless for the game and only tallied four boards.

Next up, the Pioneers get back on the road for a 4 p.m. matchup with Middle Tennessee Saturday. DU returns to Magness Arena and breaks from SBC play with a regional contest with Northern Colorado Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.