LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The University of Denver women's basketball team (13-9, 5-4 SBC) fell 46-39 on the road to Sun Belt Conference West Division rival Arkansas-Little Rock (15-5, 9-0 SBC) on Wednesday night in the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Ark.

"I'm proud of our effort tonight against the best defensive team in the Sun Belt, and one of the best in the country," said head coach Erik Johnson. "We always play this team very close and points are always tough to come by. The coaching staff and I have to figure out a beat this team, and hopefully we'll get that chance at the SBC Tournament."

Junior Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) led the Pioneers with 12 points and finished with her fifth double-double of the season, 20th of her career as she grabbed 11 rebounds. Senior Brianna Culberson (Jefferson City, Mo.) finished with 10 points, while freshman Quincey Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.) tallied eight.

Both teams played impressive defense throughout the game, with the Pioneers holding the Trojans to 26.3 percent shooting from the field, and the Trojans limited the Pioneers to 27.5 percent shooting from the floor.

The Pioneers' limited the top SBC scorer in Chastity Reed to just 13 points on 6-of-25 shooting from the field. Marian Kursh finished with 11 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

Denver remains on the road, traveling to Jonesboro, Ark., to face the Arkansas State Redwolves on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. MT. Fans can follow the game on Pioneer Radio, Live Stats and CoverItLive.com, all through www.DenverPioneers.com.

- PIONEERS -