DENVER - The University of Denver women's basketball team opened the second half shooting 1-for-17 from the field, as the Pioneers fell to Seattle U 63-53 Thursday evening at the Connolly Center in Seattle. The loss drops the Pioneers to 11-12 overall, 6-6 in Western Athletic Conference action. The Redhawks move to 12-9, 9-3 in conference play.

Denver shot 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) in the second half, and 19-for-58 (32.8 percent) in the contest, while Seattle U shot 25-for-53 (47.2 percent) on the evening.

Junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, to go along with 13 rebounds. Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) matched Michel with 11 points, while junior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) tallied eight points, all of which came in the first four minutes of the game.

"Seattle's defense was phenomenal tonight, and it took us out of our rhythm offensively," said head coach Kerry Cremeans. "We had a poor shooting night, and it's hard to win on the road when you have a poor shooting night, but this is something we'll learn from."

Sylvia Shephard led four Seattle U players in double-figures with 15 points. Daidra Brown finished with 12 points, while Ashley Ward and Kacie Sowell added 11 points apiece.

Freshman Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) and sophomore Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) each scored seven points for DU.

Janecek scored the Pioneers' first eight points, as Denver jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. The Redhawks proceeded to tie the game at eight, but a pair of three-point buckets  from Johnston and Edwards helped the Pioneers bounce back to retake the advantage at 16-8. The Redhawks responded with a 17-2 run spanning over eight minutes, however, and Seattle took a 31-27 edge into the break. 

The Pioneers slow shooting propelled the Redhawks to a 55-32 lead 13 minutes into the closing frame. The Pioneers made a late push to pull within 10, but the Redhawks did not let DU come any closer as they took the 63-53 victory.

Denver will close out its two-game road trip Saturday when it takes on Idaho. Tip is at 2 p.m. MT.

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

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