Denver Holds off CSU in 50-48 Thriller

Box Score

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The University of Denver women's basketball team edged Colorado State 50-48 on Thursday evening at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. The win brings the Pioneers to 5-6 on the season, while the Rams fall to 3-7.

Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished with 10 points, a career-high eight rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) led the Pioneers with 11 points and five boards.

Sam Martin topped the Rams with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Caitlin Duffy scored eight points, despite going 1-of-9 from the field.

"Every time you go on the road you know it's going to be tough, but our team battled and so did CSU," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "Both teams fought hard. Both teams had to work hard for every rebound. We came up with some big defensive plays late in the game that allowed us to stay ahead, and offensively we executed well in the second half."

Junior Quincey Noonan (Broomfield, Colo.) finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists in just her second game back from injury, while classmate Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) added seven rebounds. Sophomore Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored all six of her points in the second half.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 5-2 lead to open the game, but the Rams responded by scoring eight unanswered points to take a 10-5 advantage. Both teams' defenses held firm from there, as both teams shot below 25 percent in a first half that featured a stretch of nearly eight minutes without a field goal made by either team. Ultimately, Denver was able to regain the edge, as the Pioneers took an 18-17 lead into the break.

Smith led Denver with eight points and six rebounds in the opening frame, while Wirth recorded seven points.

Martin topped Colorado State with seven points and eight rebounds in the first stanza, while Taylor Varsho added five points and five boards.

The offenses started to heat up in the second half, as Denver shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the closing frame compared to 38.5 percent (10-of-26) for CSU.

The Pioneers opened the closing frame with four straight points to cap off a 9-0 run that began with 2:12 remaining in the first half. The Rams bounced back, however, with an 11-2 run that gave CSU a 30-26 lead with 15:06 remaining. Denver used a 9-2 run to regain the edge at 37-34 with 10:37 left.

Denver trailed 47-46 with three minutes left, but a Wirth layup gave DU a one-point edge with 2:53 remaining. Denver extended the margin to three off a Noonan layup and the Pioneers never surrendered the advantage from there, as DU made several defensive stands to keep CSU from scoring as time expired, sealing the 50-48 win.

Denver will open Western Athletic Conference play on Dec. 29 when it takes on Louisiana Tech at Hamilton Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. MT.

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