DENVER - Behind a career night from senior Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas), the University of Denver women's basketball team topped Arkansas State, 73-61 Wednesday night at Magness Arena. The Pioneers improved to 14-8 (6-2 SBC) on the season. Arkansas State drops to 8-13 (2-6 SBC).

Murdoch moved into third-place on the Pioneers all-time scoring list with the Pioneers first basket of the night, finishing with a career-high 33 points on 13-of-14 shooting from the field. Murdoch tied DU's single-game record for best field-goal percentage with a 92.9 shooting percentage. The small forward also finished the night with a 7-of-7 showing from the line, eight rebounds, four blocks and two assists.

"We have to give all the credit to the players," said head coach Erik Johnson. "The good news is that although we gave back our entire 17-point lead, the kids never stopped believing in each other. I accept responsibility for giving that lead away. Our players got it back and they won that game for us. That's what is great when you have a point guard like Emi Smith and center like Kaetlyn Murdoch."

Murdoch was assisted by guards Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Min.) and Emiko Smith (Los Angles, Calif.) each finishing the night with nine points, while Smith tied her career-high with nine assists.

The Red Wolves opened the night's scoring trading baskets with the Pioneers through the beginning of the half. Denver snagged a 13-10 lead off a Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) three-pointer with 8:10 to play. Denver extended its lead in the final minutes of the half behind Murdoch's 6-of-6 shooting from the field, good for 14 points. DU shot 52 percent from the field and headed into the locker-room with a 14-point lead, 35-21.

Denver opened the second half extending its lead to 15-points, only to see Arkansas State go on a 23-11 run over a span of 10:47, to take the lead. ASU's Jane Morrill led the way with 10 points during the run. The two teams then took turns leading on the scoreboard, until the 1:03 mark when Murdoch completed a three-point play after being fouled underneath the basket. Denver capitalized on its free throws in the final minutes to secure the lead for good. 

The Pioneers shot 25-of-49 (51 percent) from the floor, while ASU finished the night shooting 24-of-54 (44.4 percent). From beyond the arc, Denver was 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) while the Red Wolves shot 4-of-14 (28.6 percent). Denver was also 18-of-19 from the line, posting the best performance from the charity stripe since March 6, 2010 when the Pioneers faced the ULM Warhawks in the first round of the SBC Tournament.

Murdoch now has 1,683 career points passing Tammy Bacca (1989-1993) who totaled 1,651 points in her time at DU.

Morrill led the way for the Red Wolves with a team-high 25 points on the night, while Ashley Olvera added 10 points.

Denver improves to 12-9 all-time against Arkansas State. With Coach Johnson at the helm the Pioneers now own a 5-3 record over ASU.

The Crimson and Gold take their four-game win streak into Arkansas Little-Rock on Saturday, Jan. 28. Tip is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. MT at the Jack Stephens Center. The Pioneers are tied for first in the SBC West Division with the Trojans. Follow all the action through Pioneer Radio, live stats and live blog, all available at DenverPoineers.com.

-PIONEERS-