SAN MARCOS, Texas - Led by a season-high 16 points from senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.), the University of Denver women's basketball team defeated the Texas State Bobcats 73-70 in overtime on Thursday evening from Strahan Coliseum in San Marcos, Texas.

After trailing for most of the game, Smith and the Pioneers were able to use a 14-5 run in the final 4:42 to tie the game and send it into overtime. Denver then used an 11-point overtime period, including nine points from Smith, to seal the three-point win and improve to 7-7 on the season, 2-1 in WAC play. The loss drops the Bobcats to 6-7 on the season, 0-3 in league play.

"I am so proud of this team because they did everything we asked of them tonight," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "They followed the game plan and executed it just perfect, and I couldn't be more excited for them."

One day after suffering food poisoning, Smith rallied to play over 40 minutes, recording five assists and grabbing eight rebounds to go along with her season-high in points.

Junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) finished with 10 points to go along with a career-high 17 rebounds, giving her a fourth double-double of the season and her third straight. Also finishing in double figures were sophomore Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) and freshman Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) with 11 points each.

Diamond Ford led the Bobcats with 26 points, 15 coming from beyond the arc as she finished 5-of-11 (.455).  

The Bobcats opened the game on a 7-1 run, but the Pioneers answered to tie the game with 14:54 on the clock as Janecek hit her fourth career three-pointer. The Bobcats answered with an 8-0 run that took 2:47 off the clock. Despite several runs by the Pioneers, the Bobcats were able to hold onto the advantage throughout the first half, taking a 28-27 lead into the locker room.

Michel and Edwards led the Pioneers in the first half with five points each, while junior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) and sophomore Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) both had four. Michel also finished with two blocks, setting a new career-high. The Pioneers held the advantage in rebounds (21-17); however, the Bobcats shot 33.3 percent compared to DU's 32.0 percent.

Denver remains on the road, traveling to San Antonio to take on the UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be available via live stats and live video all at DenverPioneers.com.

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

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