Pioneers Edged By SJSU 68-67

Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The University of Denver women's basketball team was unable to convert on a buzzer-beating attempt as the Pioneers fell to San Jose State 68-67 Thursday night at The Event Center in San Jose, Calif. The loss drops DU to 8-10 on the season, 3-4 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Spartans move to 6-11, 3-3 in WAC action.

Spartan Ta'Rea Cunnigan led all scorers with 28 points on 9-for-18 shooting on the night.

Sophomore Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Pioneers with 19 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 11 points, seven of which came from the free throw line, and recorded a game-high 10 assists. Sophomore Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) matched Smith with 11 points.

"It's hard to lose another close one, but the thing that gives the team confidence is that we're right there," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "We're in every game, and we know it's just the little things like free throws or layups that really make the difference. The fight and the heart are always there, and the pride for this university is always there, and we'll continue to work hard."

Junior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) scored nine points and recorded eight rebounds. Sophomore Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) ended the night with six points and eight rebounds, while junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) led DU with 10 rebounds.

Riana Byrd finished with 11 points and six rebounds for the Spartans.

San Jose State opened the scoring with a three, but the Pioneers responded with seven unanswered points to take an early 7-3 lead. The Spartans used a 7-0 run to take a 30-23 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the opening stanza, but Denver bounced back with a 9-0 run and DU entered the break trailing by one at 33-32.

Van Riper-Rose led all scorers with 14 points in the first half, while Janecek scored six. Cunnigan topped the Spartans with 13 first-half points.

Denver fell behind 41-35 to start the second half, but came back with seven unanswered points to retake the lead at 42-41. Denver went nearly seven minutes without converting a field goal, but solid free throw shooting kept the Pioneers within striking distance, as they trailed by just three with seven minutes remaining.

The Pioneers called a timeout with five second remaining, trailing by one, but were unable to convert on a pair of field goal attempts as they fell 68-67.

Denver will return to action Saturday, when it travels to take on Utah State. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT.

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