DENVER - The University of Denver women's basketball team defeated San Jose State 83-68 on Saturday afternoon at Magness Arena, as the Pioneers sent off senior guard Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) with a win in her final home game. 

The victory moves Denver to 12-14 overall and 7-8 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Spartans fall to 9-16 and 6-8 in the conference.

"It was amazing, Emi had nine assists and zero turnovers at halftime," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "You're lucky when a point guard gets you six or seven assists per-game and she gives you 10 or 11 every night. She gets players open, she is an incredible player and for her to go out this way is awesome."

Smith finished with a 12 assists, one shy of tying the DU single-game record and her career high. She also added eight points and five rebounds. Three Pioneers finished in double-digits as sophomore guard Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored 18 points, followed by freshman Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) with 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Junior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) added 11 points.

The Spartans were led by Ta'Rea Cunnigan's 26 points, while Emily Schill and Jayzyl Tauala finished with 17 and 11, respectively.

San Jose State jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, which was answered by a 14-2 Pioneer run, as DU opened up a 17-6 advantage. With the Crimson and Gold leading 19-14 the Pioneers went on a 17-2 run to take a 20-point lead before carrying a 45-27 advantage into the half. Denver shot 50 percent (16-of-32) in the opening frame, while holding San Jose State to 31 percent (9-of-29).

DU was paced by Van Riper-Rose and Edwards, who tallied 16 and 10 points respectively in the opening stanza. Smith added nine first-half assists.

The Spartans opened the second half on a 27-9 run to erase Denver's 18-point halftime lead and tie the game at 54, but DU used a 23-5 run to put the game away.

Junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) pulled down 11 rebounds for DU, while adding nine points and three blocks. Freshman Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas) finished with eight points off the bench.  

Denver finished the game shooting 52.3 percent (34-of-65) to San Jose State's 41.9 percent (26-of-62). Denver shot 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from three-point range.

The Pioneers will have next week off before traveling to face New Mexico State on Saturday March 2 at 6:30 p.m. MT.

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

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