Box Score  MONROE, La. - University of Denver women's basketball (11-6, 3-1 SBC) senior Britteni Rice (Pampa, Texas) had a game-high 19 points to lead the Pioneers to a 55-54 victory over Louisiana-Monroe (8-8, 2-1 SBC) at the Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

 

 

"This game came down to guard play, and having Emiko Smith and Britteni Rice on our team was the difference," said head coach Erik Johnson. "They hit huge shots, and Emi's ability to take care of the ball under pressure saved us all game long. We also got good contributions from Kaetlyn Murdoch and Maiya Michel with defensive rebounds.

"Best of all, our team kept their composure enough to pull out another hard fought road win," Johnson continued. "ULM is one of the most difficult teams to play against. Their defensive pressure is excellent, and they're the best rebounding team in the conference."

Sophomore Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) and junior Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) joined Rice in double digits for the Pioneers with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Freshman Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) and Murdoch both had a team-high seven rebounds, and Smith added a game-high seven assists.

The Pioneers led by as many as 14 halfway through the second half and were up 53-40 with 2:08 remaining, but the Warhawks clawed back with a 14-2 run to cut Denver's lead to just one point with less than a second to go. However, ULM fouled sophomore Sarah Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.), and the Warhawks' final shot fell short.

Denver shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field and 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range, while holding ULM to just 32.3 percent (20-of-62) from the field and 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc.

The Warhawks dominated the glass, out-rebounding Denver 42-27, including 21 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points, to keep the game close.

The teams battled through the first half, but Rice had 10 before the break to give Denver a 21-19 edge at halftime.

The Pioneers broke the game open with a 21-9 run to start the second half, including seven by senior Brianna Culberson (Jefferson City, Mo.) and six by Murdoch.

The Pioneers return home for a meeting with Florida International on Saturday, January 15 at 1:30 p.m. MT. The game can be seen and heard live on Pioneer Vision at www.DenverPioneers.com.

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