DENVER - University of Denver junior guard Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored a career-high 21 points, but it was not enough as the Pioneers fell to Arkansas-Little Rock 53-51 in Sun Belt Conference action at Magness Arena on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops Denver to 9-7 overall, 1-1 in the SBC. UALR improves to 5-9 on the season, 1-1 in the SBC.

"We put ourselves into position to win and we fought hard, but we fell one possession short," said head coach Erik Johnson. "Arkansas-Little Rock is one of the most physical, defensive teams we are going to face. They made us earn everything we got."

Smith led Denver with six assists and sophomore forward Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) brought down nine rebounds to lead the Pioneers.

Denver took an early 13-5 lead, spurred by smothering defense that held UALR to 1-of-10 (10.0 percent) shooting to begin the game, and a 15-8 rebounding advantage for the Pioneers in the first 10 minutes. The Trojans tied it up at 20-20 with 2:35 to play then grabbed their first lead of the game with a free throw at the .40 mark as Denver trailed 21-20 at intermission.

DU regained the lead twice during the opening minutes of the second half, but the Trojans took back the upper hand each time. The Pioneers trailed by as many as 11 with 3:30 to play, but went on a 9-0 run and were back within two at 53-51 after a layup from Michel with 46 seconds to play. Denver had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but freshman Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had her attempt blocked.

The Pioneers were 19-of-46 (41.3 percent) from the field and 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) on their three-point attempts in the game. UALR shot 42.3 percent (22-of-52) from the floor and made 30.0 percent (3-of-10) of its three pointers. Denver was 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) from the free-throw line and the Trojans were 6-of-8 (75.0 percent).

Kiera Clark led the Trojans with 15 points. Britteni Williams had eight rebounds in the loss.

The Crimson and Gold return to action at Arkansas State on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 6:05 p.m. MT. Fans can follow the action live through Live Stats available at DenverPioneers.com.

-PIONEERS-