FARGO, N.D. – Four Pioneers finished in double figures, led by a 17-point performance from sophomore Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas), but it wasn’t enough as the University of Denver women’s basketball team dropped an 85-79 decision to the North Dakota State Bison at the Bison Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D., on Saturday afternoon.

“When we started scouting North Dakota State, we knew this was a scary team,” said head coach Kerry Cremeans. “They have the offensive weapons to put up a lot of points and their record is not in any way indicative of good of a team they are. We hung in there in the first half and I’m proud of how we performed. We just weren’t able to come up with an answer for Brooke LeMar in the second half.”

Bradley finished the day shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range, while dishing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds. Sophomore Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) chipped in with 15 points off 5-of-9 shooting and a 5-of-6 performance from the line to go along with five assists and three rebounds.

Junior Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) and senior Desiree Hunter (Cypress, Calif.) both finished with 10 points each as Hunter also grabbed seven rebounds. Junior Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while finishing with nine points, and senior Alison Janecek (Omaha, Neb.) grabbed eight rebounds to accompany six points, two assists, two steals and one block.

Brooke LeMar led the Bison with a career-high 33 points and eight assists, while Marena Whittle finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Denver shot 50.0 percent in the second half to finish the day shooting 50.8 percent, while NDSU shot 66.7 percent in the second half to finish shooting 49.3 percent. Of Bradley’s 17 total points, 13 came in the second half.

Edwards led the Pioneers in the first half with 10 points off 4-of-5 shooting from the field and a 2-of-2 showing from the line. Edwards also grabbed three rebounds and had two assists at the break. Hunter chipped in with eight first-half points to go along with a game-high seven rebounds. Denver shot 51.6 (16-of-31) percent from the field in the opening stanza, while NDSU shot 37.5 (15-of-40).

Denver continues on the road, traveling to Vermillion, S.D., to take on the South Dakota Coyotes on Friday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. MT.

Denver Game Notes

• Bradley has recorded three or more assists in 21-of-22 games this season. She has also grabbed at least one rebound in every game this season, finishing with four tonig.
• Bradley has finished with double-digit points 16 times this season. Her 17 points marks the 11th time this season she has finished with 15-points or more.
• Edwards scored in double digits in 15 games this season; 29 times over her career.
• Hunter’s 10 points ties her career-high for the third time this season. Her seven rebounds marks the seventh time this season she has finished with five or more rebounds this season.
• Janecek’s eight rebounds marks the 11th time this season she has grabbed five or more rebounds this season.
• Johnston’s 10 points marks the seventh time this season she has finished with 10 or more points in a game.
• Wirth has finished with two-or-more points in the last 28 games dating back to last season. She has also grabbed at least one rebound in 36 straight games dating back to last season. She has recorded 10-of-more rebounds in nine games this season.

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