LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The No. 7 seeded University of Denver women's basketball team shot a season-best tying 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field en route to a 73-63 victory over No. 10 Texas State on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena. Denver will face second-seeded Utah State in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The win moves DU to 14-16 on the season, while the Bobcats fall to 10-20 on the year.

"It was a great team effort and a great defensive effort," head coach Kerry Cremeans said. "Diamond Ford is a great player and possibly the best player in our conference. We knew going in that she would have 25-30 points, but our mindset was to defend their other players, and we were able to hold all of their other players to single-digits. I was very proud of our effort today." 

 

Freshman Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) recorded 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, while junior Maiya Michel (Loma Linda, Calif.) tallied 10 points and 15 rebounds to complete her seventh double-double of the season.

Senior Emiko Smith (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored 14 points to go along with five assists, and sophomore Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) added 12, including 10 in the second half. Sophomore Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) recorded nine points for the Pioneers.

Edwards tallied seven of Denver's first eight points, but the Pioneers fell behind 13-8 to start the contest. The first half featured five ties and four lead changes. DU finished the period on a 6-2 run to take a 33-32 edge into the intermission.

Edwards led all scorers with 11 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field, while Michel recorded seven points on 3-of-3 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.

The Pioneers scored the first four points of the closing frame, extending the run to 10-2. DU hit nine of its first 12 field goal attempts to open the period, but Ford kept the Bobcats in the game by scoring 12 points in the first eight minutes of the closing stanza. The Pioneers held strong, however, never trailing in the second half on their way to the 10-point victory.

Texas State's Diamond Ford led all scorers with 27 points, including 20 in the closing frame. The Bobcats shot 45.8 percent (27-of-59) on the afternoon. Kaylan Martin finished with eight points, while Ayriel Anderson, Jasmine Baugus and Ashley Ezeh tallied seven points apiece.

The Pioneers will take on the Aggies on Wednesday at 3:30 MT at the Orleans Arena.

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