DENVER – The University of Denver enters as the sixth seed in this year’s Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship. The tournament begins this Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D., where one of seven teams will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers will play Sunday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m. MT against No. 3 Fort Wayne.
TICKETS
Tickets for Sunday’s game can be purchased online at www.thesummitleague.org.
MEDIA/LIVE STATS
Fans can catch the action live on Midco Sports Network and Fox College Sports. Tournament passes are $20 and individual live streaming games are $4.95. Both can be purchased at www.midcosn.com. A live streaming package is also linked through www.thesummitleague.org. Live Stats will be available and fans can join the conversation on Twitter by using #DUGameDay. Live in-game tweeting will be available at @DU_WHoops.
THE SERIES
This will be the third meeting between the Pioneers and the Mastadons. The teams played for the first time in program history this season, with each claiming a win in the two match-ups. Both games were nail biters, as the Mastadons won 81-78 in the first meeting and Denver secured a 71-66 victory in the second match-up. The two contenders enter the tournament fresh off victories, with Denver triumphing over seventh seeded North Dakota State (6-23, 2-12 Summit) and IPFW beating Omaha.
SCOUTING IPFW
This will be the third meeting between the Pioneers and the Mastadons. The teams played for the first time in program history this season, with each claiming a win in the two match-ups. Both games were nail biters, as the Mastadons won 81-78 in the first meeting and Denver secured a 71-66 victory in the second match-up. The two contenders enter the tournament fresh off victories, with Denver triumphing over North Dakota State (6-23, 2-12 Summit) and IPFW beating Omaha.
SCOUTING FORT WAYNE
IPFW leads the league in three-point percentage (37.5) and free-throw percentage (78.7). The Mastadons rank second in The Summit in points per game (77.9), field goal percentage (45.1) and blocks (3.5).
Senior Amanda Hyde was Named The Summit League's Women's Basketball Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Summit League Player of the Week for her performances in the two final games of regular season play. Averaging 26 points, 3.5 rebounds, three assists and one steal on the week, she shot 62 percent (16-of-26) from the field and 95 percent (18-of-19) from the free-throw line. Hyde leads the league in scoring (22.0) and ranks third in field goal percentage (55.5) and fourth in three-point percentage (40.9). Junior guard Haley Seibert ranks fourth in the league in points per game (17.0) and is shooting 51.4 percent from the field, good for ninth place.
PIONEER LEADERBOARD
Three Pioneers lead the team with double-digit point averages as sophomore Kailey Edwards leads the way with 12.7 points per game to go along with 2.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds. Sophomore Paige Bradley is close behind with 12.0 points per game, 4.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Junior Theresa Wirth scores 10.7 points per game. Wirth leads all active scorers with a 54.0 shooting percentage from the field, good for fifth in the Summit League. She averages 7.0 rebounds per game, tying for second in the league. Van Riper-Rose is shooting 87.9 percent from the line off 29-of-33 shooting. However, Edwards has the most trips to the foul-line, averaging 76.8 percent off 123-of-160 shooting. Denver is averaging 68.3 points per game and is shooting 41.9 percent overall. In Summit League games, Denver is averaging 70.5 points per game and shooting 44.3 percent compared to its opponents shooting 44.2 percent.
SUMMIT STANDINGS
With their 5-9 league mark, the Pioneers enter as the sixth seed in The Summit League Tournament, taking on No. 3 Fort Wayne (8-6). No. 2 IUPUI (11-3) will take on No. 7 North Dakota State (2-12). No.4 South Dakota (7-7) will take on No. 5 Western Illinois (6-8). Ranking as the top seed, South Dakota State (13-1) earned a bye to the semifinals, facing the winner of the South Dakota- Western Illinois match-up. Denver is ranked fourth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.324). In just league games, Denver is ranked second in free-throw percentage (79.0), third in field-goal percentage (44.3), third in rebounding defense (35.1) and second in assists (15.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0).
PIONEERS SOCIAL NETWORKING
Fans can follow the DU Pioneers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest news, scores, event updates, video highlights and more. Become a fan of the Denver Pioneers on Facebook to get the latest news and information about the. Interact with your fellow Pioneer fans and be a part of the ever-growing Crimson and Gold community online. (Facebook Fan Page: DenverPioneers; DUWomensBasketball)
Get up-to-the-minute news, scores and information from the DU Athletic Department and the Pioneer women’s basketball team by following them on Twitter. Simply set up an account and start following today (Twitter ID: DU_Pioneers; DU_WHoops). Share your favorite photos of the Pioneers or view our digital scrapbook via Instagram by following @DU_Pioneers and/or @DU_WHoops. The DU Pioneers are also on YouTube. Checkout the Pioneer page to see highlight videos, interviews and more. (YouTube: DenverAthletics; DenverWomensHoops)
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