Denver Falls to Utah State 85-69

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - The University of Denver women's basketball team fell to Utah State, 85-69 on Saturday evening at the Dee Galen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. The loss drops DU to 8-11 on the season and 3-5 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Aggies move to 8-10, 5-2 in WAC action.

Freshmen Michaela Neuhaus (Lone Tree, Colo.) and Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) both set career highs with 18 points apiece, while Edwards also recorded seven rebounds on the evening. Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Utah State's Devyn Christensen led all scorers with 25 points, 23 of which came in the first half. Jennifer Schlott tallied 15 points and nine assists for the Aggies, while Jenna Johnson finished with 15 points.

Junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) recorded a team-high nine rebounds, while classmate Desiree Hunter (Cypress, Calif.) added 10 points.

"You have to give Utah State credit for the first 20 minutes, because they came out shooting the lights out, but I'm not proud of our effort defensively in the first half, and that will be corrected," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "We're disappointed, but I saw some bright spots in two freshmen, Michaela and Kailey, who came out and fought hard. I liked seeing that fire and that fight in those kids, and we'll continue to build on that.

The Pioneers jumped out to and early 7-5 lead, but Utah State responded with a 13-2 run, taking an 18-9 advantage with 12 minutes left in the first half. DU cut the lead to six at 24-18, but the Aggies answered with eight unanswered points to stretch the edge to 32-18 with 6:24 remaining in the opening frame, on their way to a 51-33 halftime lead.

Neuhaus topped the Pioneers with 11 points in the first half, while Smith added 10. Utah State shot 63.3 percent in the first stanza (19-of-30), while the Pioneers shot 34.3 percent (12-of-35).

Denver cut the lead to 16 midway through the second half, but was unable to get any closer, as the Aggies stretched the lead to 25 before taking the 16-point victory.

Denver will return to action Saturday, when it hosts New Mexico State. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. MT.

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