BOZEMAN, Mont. - Led by a double-double performance from junior Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas), the University of Denver women's basketball team (3-3) defeated the Montana State Bobcats (2-5) 74-68 in front of 1,127 fans in Worthington Arena. Murdoch was one of four Pioneers to finish in double figures as she posted 18 points and 12 rebounds.

"This was a tough win for us tonight, not just because of the obstacles that we went through to just get to Bozeman, but because Montana State really made it hard for us to run our offense," said head coach Erik Johnson. "I have to give a lot of credit to our team because they really didn't let the difficulties that we had in getting out of Denver affect them. They battled and made the adjustments that we asked of them at halftime, and that is what helped us to win this game."

The Pioneers, who were scheduled on a 2:30 p.m. flight out of Denver International Airport yesterday, did not make it to Bozeman, Montana until 10 a.m. this morning, after their flight was canceled due to mechanical difficulties with the aircraft.

The SBC Co-Player of the Week, Murdoch struggled in the first half, posting only six points and three rebounds, but then powered back in the second half to post 12 points and nine rebounds to finish with her first double-double of the season, 16th of her career.

Also finishing in double figures were seniors Britteni Rice (Pampa, Texas) and Brianna Culberson (Jefferson City, Mo.) as both finished with 16 points. Freshman Quincey Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.) rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points.

Sophomore Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) had another strong night for the Pioneers, posting six assists and eight points, while only turning over the ball once.

Katie Bussey led the Bobcats with 16 points, while Chelsea Banis recorded a double-double on 14 points and 10 rebounds. Also finishing in double figures was Sarah Balain with 14 points.

For the game, the Pioneers shot 46.7 percent from the field, compared to the Bobcat's 41.0 percent.

After taking a two-point lead into the locker room, the Pioneers stretched their lead to five points with 17:46 remaining as Rice, Smith and Murdoch all scored. However the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 45-41 lead. Denver battled back to tie the game with 9:15 remaining at 49-49 off a layup by Culberson, but the Bobcats pulled away again to stretch their lead by as much as six points.

With 3:19 remaining, the Pioneers tied the game at 62-62 off free throws by Smith, forced a defensive stop as freshman Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) stole the ball and jumped ahead 65-62 off a Rice three-pointer.

The Bobcats answered back to tie the game 65-65 as Bussey sank a deep three pointer, but Rice put the Pioneers back up by two point as she converted both her free-throw attempts. Denver did not relinquish its lead for the rest of the game, despite several pushes by the Bobcats.

Next up, the Pioneers travel to Missoula, Montana, to take on the Montana Grizzlies on Thursday at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the game via Live Video/Radio, Live Stats and through CoverItLive, all on DenverPioneers.com.

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