DENVER – The University of Denver women's basketball team returns to the court on Thursday night to host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at 7 p.m. MT.

Denver, who is 12-9 overall and 5-3 in league play sit in third place in the Summit, behind South Dakota and SDSU. DU will look to get back on track after falling to Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday when they scored just 55 points while shooting a season-low 26.2 percent from the floor. This will be the second meeting of the season between the Pios and Jackrabbits as DU was defeated 79-56 in Brookings. Denver hung tough throughout the contest but the Jackrabbits used a strong third quarter to outlast the Pioneers.

Head coach Jim Turgeon's team features five players who average double figures, Madison Nelson (15.6 points per game), Lauren Loven (15.6 points per game), Samantha Romanowski (12.0 points per game), Claire Gritt (12.0 points per game) and Courtney Smith (10.1 points per game). The starting five paces an offense that averages 82.1 points per game (ninth in the country) and shoots 40.4 percent from downtown (fifth in the country). The Pios will have to play tough defense against the Jackrabbits who shoot 47.3 percent from the field (13^th in the country) to pick up their second win all-time over SDSU.

The Jackrabbits, who sit at 15-6 and 7-1 in the league are led by redshirt-senior Macy Miller. Miller is second in the Summit League in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game while adding 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists. 19^th year head coach Aaron Johnston's team also gets solid contributions from Madison Guebert (14.1 points per game) and Myah Selland (12.9 points per game) who combine with Miller to average more than half of the Jackrabbits points. South Dakota State's lone league loss came against South Dakota in an overtime thriller back on January 6^th. Since the loss, SDSU has won five-straight including an 86-33 domination of North Dakota State.

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

PIONEER MOVEMENT:
Fans interested in making a donation to the women's basketball program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.  

Play4Kay Game:
Join us and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in fighting and bringing awareness to breast cancer across the world. Players, coaches and fans will be uniting in an effort to extend and improve the lives of all women battling cancer by raising money for research and assisting the underserved. You can help us by participating in the National Free Throw Challenge benefitting the Kay Yow Cancer Fund using this link - https://pledgeit.org/denver-play4kay?fbclid=IwAR0or0WCxuC0yp-tiyaa64FktKHAHRAvUdpB_jozPP2OcIMkRxCQ9P-aMUY.

- Pioneer Together -
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Women's Basketball on Facebook