MACOMB – The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 87-78 to Western Illinois on Sunday afternoon. With the loss DU drops to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the Summit League while Western Illinois improves to 5-10 and 1-1 in league play.

The Leathernecks outscored Denver 28-9 in the first quarter and withstood the comeback attempt from the Pioneers. Despite being outscored in the second and third quarters, WIU hung tough and bounced back with a 15-2 run to begin the fourth quarter, securing the victory.

Madison Nelson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season.

Jasmine Jeffcoat had a season-high 10 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

It was a slow start to the contest for two of the top scoring teams in the Summit League, shooting just 5-of-25 combined to start the game. Thanks to some sloppy play from the Pioneers, Western Illinois was able to hop out to an 8-4 lead prior to the media timeout.

The Leathernecks exploded out of the break, ripping off a 20-7 run to end the quarter. After starting just 4-of-13 WIU ended the quarter hitting six-straight shots to outscore DU 28-9 in the first 10 minutes of play.

Denver woke up in the second quarter, going on a 17-7 run to cut the deficit to single digits prior to the media break. The Pioneers hit three 3s during the stretch, including two from Lauren Loven and one from Claire Gritt.

The teams finally settled into the game out of the timeout, trading baskets over the final 4-plus minutes of the first half. Denver outscored WIU 26-16 in the second quarter but still trailed 44-35 at the half after the Leathernecks shot 39.5 percent from the floor.

The Pioneers continued to chip away at the Leatherneck lead, bursting out of the quarter with a 16-9 stretch to pull within two points at the media break. After the timeout, the teams traded baskets as Western Illinois hit two free throws in the final minute to hold a 61-57 lead after three periods.

The Leathernecks finally responded to the Denver outburst, scoring the first nine points of the quarter to regain a double-digit lead with less than seven minutes to play. After a timeout from head coach Jim Turgeon the Pioneers continued to scrap but could only get within nine points.

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