HONOLULU, Hawai'i - The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 60-51 to the UC Davis Aggies in the first game of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Senior Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) led the Pioneers with 17 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season, while also posting five blocks.

The loss drops the Pioneers to 8-4 on the season, while the Aggies improve to 7-3 overall.

"UC Davis played a great game against us and I have to give them a lot of credit," said head coach Erik Johnson. "We did a great job at the end of the second half of really playing our game, but they came out right at the start of the second half and really played us aggressively."

Sophomore Quincey Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.) posted eight points, seven rebounds and four assists, while redshirt junior Morgan Shell (Marble Falls, Texas) added eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) posted eight points off a perfect 4-of-4 showing from the field, while freshman Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tallied five points.

Junior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished the night with eight assists, while also chipping in three points and grabbing three rebounds.

The Pioneers found themselves down early in the first half as the Aggies used an 11-3 run that took 2:46 off the clock to take a 21-8 advantage with 12:10 remaining on the clock. Denver responded with authority, going on a 22-5 run that lasted over 12 minutes to take a 30-26 lead into halftime. The run included three-pointers from Van Riper-Rose and Noonan, as well as 10 points from Murdoch that featured a lay-up right at the halftime buzzer.

Murdoch led all scorers heading into halftime with 11 points, while Van Riper-Rose and Noonan added five points each. Murdoch also had six rebounds, while Smith had five assists.

It was a different story in the second half as the Aggies game out of the gate on a 10-3 run to start the second half to take a 36-33 lead with 14:39 left to play. The Pioneers kept it close throughout the half, not allowing the Aggies to get more than a seven point lead.

The Pioneers were able to cut the Aggies' advantage to three points with 6:35 left to play as Murdoch sank both her free-throw attempts. However, UC Davis used a 12-6 run to close out the game for the last 6:22 of the game.

Up next, the Pioneers will face Hawai'i in the second game of the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Shootout on Monday at 10 p.m. MT. Live Stats and a Live Blog will be available through DenverPioneers.com. Live Video will also be available for a fee.

-PIONEERS-