Box Score

- Behind its best shooting night of the year, the University of Denver women's basketball team picked up its first win of the season in a 57-48 victory at Air Force on Wednesday night.

Senior Paige Bradley (The Woodlands, Texas) powered the Pioneers' attack, scoring 11 points while handing out a season-high seven assists in 39 minutes of action, and only committing two turnovers on the evening.

Jesse Spittel (Yorba Linda, Calif.) dialed up her best outing of the year, scoring a season-high 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting. Spittel was very effective at getting to the line, resulting in seven points coming from the charity stripe. The junior forward also was a factor on the boards, grabbing eight in the win.

DU's 44.4 percent shooting (20-of-45) in the game set a new season high on the year.

Denver got the hot start they were looking for, racing out to a 14-8 lead going into the first media timeout of the evening. Both Bradley and Haley Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) led the way, combining for 12 of the first 14 of the Pioneers' points.

Avery Queen (Boerne, Texas) gave DU a huge spark off the bench by scoring the final six points of the quarter to make it 20-8 at the end of the first, part of a 12-0 run to close out the first 10 minutes of play.

Denver picked up right where it left off in the opening moments of the second quarter, pushing its lead to 16, the largest of the night, at 24-8 after a layup from Spittel. The Pioneers' strong play was due to their ability to really move the ball around and get good open looks that they knocked down with consistency.

Both teams battled some sluggish shooting for the final five minutes of the half, resulting in DU taking a 28-17 lead at the half.

The big key in the first half was Denver's defense shutting down Air Force's offense for long stretches of time throughout the first two quarters of play. The Pioneers held the Falcons to just 26.7 percent (8-of-30) from the field in the opening two quarters, the first time this year DU has held an opponent to under 30 percent in a half.

Air Force battled back to start the third quarter, using a 7-4 run to cut the DU lead to 10 points at 34-24 at the 6:29 mark after a jumper from Mary Cavanaugh, her first points of the contest.

The Falcons were able to finish the quarter strong, trailing 41-33 at the end of the third quarter, the first time it had trailed by single digits since early in the first.

Two clutch baskets by Denver increased its lead back to double digits at 47-37 with just around five minutes remaining in the fourth, highlighted by a step-back jumper as the shot clock expired by Ciera Morgan (Parker, Colo.), upping her total to seven points in the game.

Air Force, though, refused to go quietly, using a mini 7-3 run to cut the Pioneers' lead to just six points with 2:30 remaining in the fourth.

DU countered by re-establishing itself on the defensive end, forcing several turnovers late, allowing for it to pull away with the 57-48 win.

Ready, Willing, and Able

Queen was a huge difference maker off the bench tonight, providing immediate impact from the moment she checked in. The sophomore forward finished a career-best eight points on 4-of-5 shooting, while posting a game-high plus-31 in her 26 minutes of action on the floor.

Up Next

Denver is off the Bahamas to participate in the Junkanoo Jam next week. The Pioneers will open with No. 3 Notre Dame on Nov. 27. Tip-off is set for 1:15 p.m. MT.

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