LINCOLN – The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 96-71 to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. With the loss Denver drops to 7-4 while Nebraska improves to 5-5.

The Huskers shot 34-of-67 from the field while getting to the free throw line 27 times to down the Crimson and Gold. Despite Samantha Romanowski's career-high 33 points Nebraska held the Pioneers to just 23-of-59 from the floor.  

Romanowski finished with a career-best 33 points while going 8-of-8 from beyond the arc, a career and building-best. The senior was 12-of-18 overall while adding three rebounds and two assists.    

Madison Nelson had 19 points and five rebounds as the junior forward has now eclipsed double-figures in seven-straight games.

Denver opened the game with a 7-2 surge behind a 3 from Romanowski and two easy layups over the first minute-and-a-half. Nebraska stayed calm and ripped off a 10-1 run over the next two-plus minutes to grab a four point lead but Romanowski kept DU close with another long-distance jumper.

Over the final five minutes of the quarter the Huskers opened up a double-digit lead after shooting 10-of-15 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

Leading 31-19 after one, Nebraska attempted to extend the lead early in the second quarter but Romanowski scored 8 points over the first three minutes to keep Denver alive. The Huskers then forced DU to go scoreless for nearly two minutes as Nebraska pushed the lead out to 16 at 44-28 with just over four minutes to play in the half.

The Crimson and Gold cut the deficit to 11 with 1:55 to play in the half but Nebraska closed the quarter with a 6-2 outburst to lead by 15 at the break.

Nebraska shot 16-of-32 in the first half while going 16-of-19 from the free-throw line.

The Pioneers opened the second half with another long-range shot from Romanowski to make the score 52-40 but the Huskers outscored DU 11-8 to keep Denver at arms-length prior to the media timeout. Despite trailing by as many as 15 points the Pioneers hung tough and cut the lead to 8 with 2:08 left in the third quarter.

Nebraska ended the third quarter on a 8-0 run to stretch the lead back to 14 at the end of three periods.

The Huskers once again outscored the Pioneers in the fourth by a total of 25-16 to secure the victory. In the quarter, Nebraska shot 10-of-17 from the floor and 2-of-3 from downtown.

Next up: Denver returns home to host Samford on Wednesday morning at 11 am in the annual Hoops for Education game.

DENVER ATHLETICS TICKETS: For all Denver Athletics ticket inquiries, call 303-871-GOAL (4625), or visit DenverPioneers.com.

TOGETHER 4 COLORADO TOY DRIVE:
The Pioneers have partnered with CBS4 for the Together 4 Colorado Toy Drive to support the Denver community during the holiday season. Beginning Nov. 17, there will be toy drops at every Denver Athletics and Newman Center event thru Dec. 19. 

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