OMAHA – The University of Denver women's basketball team opened league play with a 95-68 victory over Omaha on Friday evening. With the win the Pioneers snap a four-game losing streak and improve to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in the Summit League.

DU used a balanced attack that saw five players reach double-figures while shooting 33-of-71 (46.5 percent) from the floor.

Claire Gritt led the team with 18 points while adding three assists and has now reached double-figures in three-straight games.

Madison Nelson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one block. The junior has now eclipsed double-digits in nine consecutive contests.

Lauren Loven had 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting while going 5-of-9 from downtown. She improved on her season average of 50.0 percent from 3.

Courtney Smith produced her third double-double as a Pioneer, tallying 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Samantha Romanowski fell one assist shy of a double-double, recording 16 points, nine assists and four rebounds in the game.

The Pioneers opened the game on a 5-0 run that included a 3 from Gritt and a pair of free throws from Nelson. Omaha cut into the lead with back-to-back jumpers to make it 7-4 but Denver ended the quarter on a 14-9 burst to hold an eight-point lead at the end of one.

Loven led DU with six points on two 3s in the first quarter while Smith had seven boards.

The Pioneers maintained the double-digit lead for a majority of the second period with Gritt scoring 10 points prior to the media timeout, which came with 3:53 left in the half. Denver then ended the quarter on a 9-2 outburst that was capped off by a layup from Romanowski, giving the Crimson and Gold a 14-point lead at half.

Gritt and Romanowski led the Pioneers with 13 points and 10 points, respectively, while Smith grabbed eight boards in the first twenty minutes.

DU kept its foot on the gas pedal in the first few minutes of the third quarter as the Pioneers went on a 13-3 spurt to grab a 24-point lead, the largest of the contest. Following a timeout, the Mavericks cut into Denver's lead with a 16-9 run but a buzzer-beating 3 from Smith put Denver in front 69-49 at the end of three quarters.

Denver's dominance remained present over the final 10 minutes of play as the Pioneers extended their lead to 26 points prior to the media break. Omaha continued to fight after the timeout, getting within 22 but DU closed the door with a game-ending 13-8 stretch.

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