MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 74-51 to Minnesota Wednesday evening at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The loss snapped a string of three straight Pioneer wins, bringing Denver's record to 3-4 on the season. The Golden Gophers move to 7-3.

The Pioneers shot 27.6 percent in the contest, compared to 50.8 percent for Minnesota.

Minnesota's Rachel Banham and Micaella Riche led all scorers with 21 and 19 points, respectively.

Junior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) led the Pioneers with 13 points, setting a new career high for the second straight game. Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) added eight points and four assists, while junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) recorded 10 rebounds.

"Minnesota is a phenomenal basketball team," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "They're tough, they shoot the ball well and they're playing with a ton of confidence, so we give them a ton of credit. We're going to learn from this game. There were moments where we did some great things, but there were moments where we got away from what we do well, and the team will learn from that."

Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) scored seven points in the contest, all of which came in the first half. She was matched by sophomore Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) who scored all seven of her points in the second frame.

The Pioneers found themselves trailing early on, as Minnesota jumped out to a 12-4 lead to begin the contest. DU cut the lead to three at 16-13 midway through the opening frame, but the Golden Gophers responded by extending the advantage to double-digits, and taking a 41-27 lead into the intermission.

Banham led all scorers with 15 first-half points. She was followed by Riche with 10.

Janecek and Johnston led the Pioneers in first-half scoring with seven points apiece.

The Golden Gophers used an 8-2 run early in the second half to stretch the advantage to 49-31 less than four minutes into the closing frame. The Pioneers were unable to recover from there, falling 74-51.

The Pioneers will return to action Saturday, when they host Air Force. Tip is set for 1 p.m. MT.

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of DU's NCAA Division I sports.

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