FORT COLLINS – The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 84-79 on Friday afternoon at Colorado State. The loss is DU's fourth-straight and drops the Pioneers to 7-6 while the Rams improve to 5-5.

Denver led 60-53 halfway through the third quarter but CSU outscored the Pioneers 31-19 en route to the comeback victory. The 84 point output is Colorado State's highest point total of the season.

Claire Gritt finished with 19 points, seven boards and four assists. The 19 points are just one shy of her season-high.

Lauren Loven had 21 points while shooting 7-of-14 from downtown. All 21 of her points came in the first half.

Madison Nelson produced 13 points and 10 rebounds for her second-consecutive double-double and sixth of the season.

Colorado State kicked off the contest with a 3-point jumper but the Pioneers responded with an 11-0 run that included three long-distance jumpers from Loven. The Rams stayed close though, putting together a 13-5 outburst to tie the game at 16 with 1:42 left in the first period.

Samantha Romanowski put DU back on top with a 3-ball but CSU ended the quarter with a free throw and 3-point basket to hold a 20-19 lead after one. Loven led the Pioneers with 12 points while knocking down four 3s in the first.

Loven stayed hot in the second quarter, converting three more long-distance jumpers over the first four minutes of the period. Romanowski added another 3 to give Denver the five point lead but the Rams went on an 8-2 run to flip the script and take a two point advantage with 3:21 remaining in the half. 

The Crimson and Gold then exploded for a 12-4 spurt that featured seven points from Claire Gritt including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send DU to the half with a 47-41 lead. Loven had a team-high 21 points in the first half, all via the long-ball while Romanowski added six points and five dimes.

Denver and Colorado State traded punches in the first five minutes of the third quarter as Gritt had seven points during the stretch. The Crimson and Gold led 60-55 at the media timeout but the Rams went on a 7-1 surge to regain a one point lead at the end of three quarters.

CSU's strong play carried over into the final quarter as the Rams outscored the Pioneers 11-3 to take a nine point lead with just over six minutes left in the contest. Denver got its first field goal in three-plus minutes when Romanowski hit a 3 to trim the deficit to six with 4:22 remaining.

Following an empty possession for the Rams, freshman Tsimba Malonga made it a four point game with a layup forcing head coach Ryun Williams to call timeout. Colorado State remained calm during the run and stretched the lead back to nine after an old-fashioned three-point play from Grace Colaivalu with 2:14 left in the ballgame.

Denver got within seven points after a pair of free throws from Nelson but the Pioneers could not get any closer over the remaining time.

Next up: Denver will break for the holidays and return to the court on December 28^th when the Pioneers travel to Omaha to face the Mavericks at 5 pm MT.

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