DENVER – The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 83-67 to South Dakota State on Thursday evening. With the loss, the Pios drop to 12-10 overall and 5-4 in the Summit League while the Jackrabbits improve to 16-6 and 8-1.

Tsimba Malonga scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The freshman also had five rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes of action.

Lauren Loven and Madison Nelson finished with 11 points apiece while Jasmine Jeffcoat added a team-high eight boards.

Loven tied her own DU single-season record for 3s in a season with her 83rd make of the year. 

The Jackrabbits opened the game on fire from downtown as Madison Guebert connected twice from 3 to give SDSU a 6-0 lead. The quick start continued as Tylee Irwin converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put DU in a 9-0 hole less than three minutes into the game.

Despite trialing, Denver closed the quarter with a 17-12 run to make it 21-17 after one period.

DU kept fighting in the second quarter and eventually tied the game at 23 after a layup from Claire Gritt with 7:56 left in the period. South Dakota State clapped right back with an 11-0 outburst to claim an 11-point lead, its largest of the night.

The back-and-forth action remained as the Pios ended the quarter with a 9-2 stretch to close the gap prior to the half. The Jackrabbits led 36-32 after 20 minutes, while shooting 15-of-36 (42 percent) from the floor and holding Denver to 3-of-10 (30 percent) from downtown.

Both teams settled into the contest early in the third quarter, trading buckets prior to the media timeout which came at 5:53 of the frame. SDSU, who led by eight at the break extended the lead to 14 with a 10-4 run over the next 4:34 of the period.

Denver and South Dakota State exchanged blows over the final 1:29 of the third as the Jackrabbits led 63-50 at the end of three quarters.  

A defensive battle broke out in the fourth quarter, as the teams combined for just 10 points in the first three-plus minutes. Despite the offensive struggles, SDSU remained in control of the game and held a 73-58 advantage with less than five minutes to play.

Head coach Jim Turgeon's team continued to fight but the Pios were unable to pose a threat to the Jackrabbit lead.  

Next up: Denver will head back to the road to face Oral Roberts on Wednesday, February 6 at 6 pm MT.  

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