DENVER – The University of Denver women's basketball team knocked off [RV] South Dakota 104-99 on Thursday evening. Denver improves to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the Summit League while South Dakota drops to 13-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.

After being outscored by eight points in the first quarter, DU outscored USD 55-37 in the middle quarters to flip the script and take a 10 point lead into the final 10 minutes of play en-route to the program's first win over the Coyotes since 2014.

Lauren Loven finished with a career-high 32 points while shooting 10-of-15 from the floor, 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. The junior guard also added two steals and one block in 37 minutes of action.

Jasmine Jeffcoat also set a career-high with 20 points while adding four rebounds and four steals. The sophomore forward went 6-of-9 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.

Samantha Romanowski produced her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 assists. The senior guard also added five rebounds while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor.

Madison Nelson reached double figures for the 12^th-straight game, recording 18 points and nine rebounds.   

South Dakota, who holds non-conference wins over #22 Missouri and #23 Iowa State, got off to a quick start, knocking down three of their first four field goals to hold an early 6-2 lead. The Coyotes increased the lead with a pair of free throws from Ciara Duffy and 3 pointer from Chloe Lamb with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter. Denver stayed in striking distance with an 8-4 outburst over the next 2:14 to make it 15-10 just after the media break.

USD then ended the period outscoring DU 13-10 to hold a 28-20 lead after one. The Coyotes shot 10-of-17 from the floor while holding the Pioneers to just 1-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Head coach Jim Turgeon's squad came out firing in the second quarter, putting together a 14-10 run over the first half of the period to cut the deficit to five points. The surge continued after the media break as DU outscored the Coyotes 16-10 to make the score 50-50 after one half of play.
Nelson and Loven led the Pioneers with 13 points apiece while Romanowski added eight assists.

After combining for 100 points in the first half, the teams opened the third period with an increase in defensive intensity. Denver was the first to settle into the second half with four-straight baskets to take a four point lead, their largest at that point of the contest with 5:33 left in the period.

Back-to-back Coyote buckets tied the game at 59 but DU responded with a 16-6 stretch to end the quarter with a 10 point lead. Loven added 10 points in the quarter while Jeffcoat had seven for the Pioneers.
South Dakota and Denver traded baskets over the first three-plus minutes of the final period as DU led by 13 with 6:39 to play. Trailing by its largest margin of the game, USD ripped off a 16-8 stretch to make the score 91-86 with 2:08 left in the game. A pair of free throws got the Coyotes within three points but DU withstood the comeback attempt, using eight free throws in the final minute to lock up the win.

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