Box Score

VERMILLION, S.D. - South Dakota's depth and stingy defense forced Denver into a cold-shooting second half and led to the Coyotes downing the Pioneers on Wednesday night at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D. Denver (7-15, 4-4 Summit) fell to league leader South Dakota (16-5, 6-2 Summit) 82-56.

It was a back and forth game in the first half with nine ties and a dozen lead changes, with neither team leading by more than five points. Then with the Pioneers in front 37-33 with 3:25 remaining, the momentum of the game swung in favor of the Coyotes. South Dakota went on a 9-0 to finish the first half and carried a 42-37 lead into the break.

South Dakota sustained their momentum into the second half by going on a 22-6 run over the first 9:45 of the half to take a 66-43 advantage. Denver was held to just 19 percent (5-of-27) shooting from the field in the second half after shooting 54 percent (14-of-26) from the field in the first half. The Pioneers were held without a 3-point field goal in the second half, going 0-of-7.

Denver sophomore forward Alecia Espinoza (Hacienda Heights, Calif.) tied a career-high with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Point guard Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas) led all scorers in the game with 14 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. Senior Jordan Johnston (Waterloo, Iowa), who has now recorded double digit point totals in six of Denver's eight league games, put up 10 points. Sophomore Jacqlyn Poss (Shoreview, Minn.) finished with 10 points off the bench for the Pioneers.

South Dakota had a balanced offensive attack, with four players reaching double figures. Tia Hemiller and Lisa Loeffler each scored 13 points. Raeshel Contreras finished with 12 points, while Nicole Seekamp recorded 10 points for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes took advantage of the Pioneers' turnovers, converting 19 Denver turnovers into 23 points. South Dakota held a 22-8 advantage on second chance points after collecting 20 offensive rebounds.

For the game, Denver shot 36 percent (19-of-53) from the field and 25 percent (3-of-12) from the 3-point line, while South Dakota connected on 41 percent (27-of-66) of its attempts from the field and 28 percent (5-of-18) from behind the 3-point arc. The Pioneers sank 83 percent (15-of-18) of their free throw attempts. South Dakota dropped in 72 percent (23-of-32) of its attempts from the foul line.

Denver returns home and starts the second half of The Summit League schedule when they host IUPUI on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. MST. It will be the second meeting between these two teams in a span of 14 days. A video broadcast will be available on Pioneer Vision.

Information on all DU basketball ticketing options can be obtained by calling the Daniel L. Ritchie Center Box Office at (303) 871-2336 or by visiting the ticket page on DenverPioneers.com.

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