MACOMB, Ill. – Led by 15 points from junior forward Theresa Wirth (Mesa, Ariz.), the University of Denver women’s basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit but could not hold on as Western Illinois snuck past the Pioneers 79-76 at Western Hall on Thursday night from Macomb, Ill.

“I think more than anything in the first half, we struggled defensively,” DU head coach Kerry Cremeans said. “They were just knocking down outside jumpers and three-pointers and just really shooting the ball well in the first half. But we came out really strong in the second half, and we made some nice defensive adjustments. That really took away the three-point shot and also the inside game. But Ashley Luke, she is really, really talented, and she pretty much overtook the game there in those final three minutes. We fought hard in those second 20 minutes to win the game, and we just couldn’t pull it off there at the very end.”

 

 

Along with her 15 points, Wirth finished with five rebounds, while sophomore Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas) finished with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds. Sophomore Kailey Edwards (Broomfield, Colo.) rounded out the double-figure scoring with 13 points, four assists and three steals.

Denver shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the field and 52.6 (10-of-19) from three- point range. The Pioneers also finished shooting 90.9 percent from the free-throw line, converting 10-of-11 free throws. Western Illinois shot 47.0 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the line.

Entering the second half down by 10, the Pioneers trailed by as many as 12 before erasing the Leathernecks’ lead in the form of a 13-0 run. Junior guard Morgan Van Riper-Rose (Eden Prairie, Minn.) sealed off the run with a three-pointer that gave the Pioneers a 47-46 advantage with 16:22 left to spare in regulation.

The lead traded hands six more times before the Pioneers emerged with their largest lead yet, a four-point spread reached when junior guard Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa) sank both of her free throws to give the Crimson and Gold a 76-72 lead with 3:29 to go in the game.

However, DU went scoreless in the final minutes remaining and the Leathernecks capitalized by finishing the game with a 7-0 run, spearheaded by forward Ashley Luke who had a game-high 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Tori Neimann finished with 18 points and Marley Hall chipped in with 11 rebounds.

The Pioneers trailed the Leathernecks, 42-32, after 20 minutes of play, a period in which the teams combined for 11 first-half three-pointers, the same number of treys made in the same stretch during their previous meeting.

The Pioneers play their final regular-season road game at Omaha (11-14, 3-8 Summit) on Saturday at noon MT.

KERRY CREMEANS POSTGAME INTERVIEW AT WESTERN ILLINOIS

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gGi7vGcPsw0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

- EXPERIENCE DENVER ATHLETICS –

Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of Denver’s NCAA Division I sports.

Like Denver Pioneers and DU Women’s Basketball on Facebook

Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_WHoops on Twitter