Pioneers' Pink Zone (Video)

DENVER, Colo. - The University of Denver women's basketball team (14-12, 9-6 SBC) dropped a close decision at home to the University of Arkansas Little Rock (21-5, 14-1 SBC) by a score of 58-50 before a crowd of 398 at Magness Arena. 

Junior Brianna Culberson (Jefferson City, Mo.) led the Pioneer scoring effort with 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting while pulling down four rebounds.  Sophomore Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) also added 11 points and a game-high five blocks.  However, turnovers plagued the Pioneers as they lost possession 21 times during the game.

"First of all, we turned the ball over too many times," head coach Erik Johnson said. "We're second in the nation in field goal percentage, but if you don't take enough shots, you can't win a game."

The Pioneers used accuracy to their advantage in the first half, shooting 12-of-16 from the field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc to hold a narrow 32-31 advantage at the break.  However, the Trojans battled back in the second half, opening with a 6-0 run and holding Denver to just 18 second half points to secure the win.  This was UALR's 16^th-straight win.

With the victory, the Trojans clinched the Sun Belt West Division for the third consecutive season.  UALR junior Chastity Reed had a double-double, leading all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-32 shooting, while adding 10 rebounds.  The Trojans had 15 offensive rebounds which led to just as many points, and basketball security was a factor as UALR committed only nine turnovers on the evening.

With the loss, Denver remains in second place in the SBC West with a 9-6 conference record.  The Pioneers return to action when they begin a two game conference road swing beginning in New Orleans on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Pioneer Notes:

• Denver celebrated its annual WBCA Pink Zone® event, a global Initiative by the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association to raise breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in the communities and beyond. The Pioneers introduced Denver Post Columnist Penny Parker as their honorary coach prior to the game, and recognized other survivors and activists throughout the night.

• Murdoch's 11 points extends her consecutive games with double figure points to 16.
• Culberson's 16 points for the night marks the 25th game this season that she has finished in double figures. Culberson has scored in double-digits in the Pioneers' last six games.
• Murdoch also finished the night with 5 blocks, extending her streak with one or more blocks to seven games. To date, the sophomore has 150 career blocks, ranking her fourth all-time.