FULLERTON, Calif. – The University of Denver women’s basketball team fell 63-56 to Cal State Fullerton on the road on Friday night in the Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif. The loss drops the Pioneers to 2-12 on the season, while the Titans improve to 4-9.

Sophomore Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) led the Pioneers with 18 points off 6-of-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 showing from the charity stripe. After posting a career-high 11 rebounds in the previous game, senior Desiree Hunter (Cypress, Calif.) finished with17 rebounds, six offensive, to reset her career-high, while also scoring seven points.

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Junior Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) founded out the double-figure scoring for the Pioneers with 12 points, while tying her career-high of five assists. Sophomore Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas) and junior Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) also chipped in for the Pioneers with nine and six points, respectively.

Also turning in a solid performance for the Pioneers on the boards was senior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.), who tied her career-high of 11 rebounds.

Chante Miles led the way for the Titans with 20 points, while Alex Thomas and Natalie Williams scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Denver shot 81.8 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-11), including a perfect 8-of-8 in the second half. From the field, Denver shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60). The Titans shot 33.3 percent from the field and 82.6 percent from the line.

The Titans used an 8-2 run right out of the gate in the second half to whip away the Pioneers’ five-point halftime advantage and continued to grow their cushion by as much as seven points with 6:55 left to play. The Titans used 82.4 percent shooting from the line and 36.7 percent shooting from the field in the second half to seal the 63-56 win.

Edwards led the Pioneers with 10 points in the first half, while Hunter grabbed eight rebounds and chipped in with five points, one assist and one steal. Van Riper-Rose added seven points and three assists, while Wirth posted four points.

Denver shot 46.7 percent from the field (14-of-30), while Fullerton shot 30.0 percent (9-of-30). The Titans held the advantage at the free-throw line in the first half, shooting 83.3 percent, while the Pioneers only shot 33.3 percent.

The Pioneers trailed for most of the first half until the 11:04 mark when Bradley netted her first points of the game to put Denver up 14-13. Both teams exchanged points for the next four minutes until the Pioneers took the lead for good with 6:51 left to play as Wirth got her lay-up to go, putting DU up 20-18.

Denver closed out the half on a 9-7 run to take a 30-25 advantage into the break.

Denver remains on the road, closing out its five-game road trip at Long Beach State on Sunday at 3 p.m. MT.

Denver Team Notes

• With her 18 points, Edwards has scored in double figures in 11 games this season, 25 over her career.
• Van Riper-Rose tied her career-high of five assists, something she’s done twice before in her career.
• Janecek tied her career-high of 11 rebounds. This is the second time this season that she’s finished with double-digit rebounds.
• With her six points, Wirth has recorded two or more points in the last 20 games. She has also grabbed at least one rebound in 28 straight games dating back to last season, grabbing one rebound tonight.
• Hunter has grabbed three-or-more rebounds in eight games played this season and has scored two-or-more points in the last six games. Her 17 rebounds sets a new career-high. Her previous of 11 was set at Illinois State (12/30/13).
• Edwards has started in 28 straight games for the Pioneers.
• Bradley has recorded three-or-more assists in 13-of-14 games this season. She has also recorded at least one rebound in every game this season, finishing with two tonight.

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