BROOKINGS, S.D. – The University of Denver women's basketball team fell 76-59 to South Dakota State on Wednesday night. With the loss DU drops to 10-8 overall and 3-2 in the Summit League.

South Dakota State grabbed 17 offensive rebounds for 17 second chance points while shooting 29-of-63 from the floor en route to the victory. DU shot a season worst 21-of-64 (32.8 percent) from the floor and scored under 60 points for the first time all year.

Madison Nelson had 14 points and nine rebounds while playing 33 minutes. The junior from Dover, Minn. also added four steals and one block.

Courtney Smith added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and has now reached double-figures in nine games as a Pioneer.

South Dakota State sprinted out of the gates with a 7-0 run that included five points from senior Macy Miller. Denver settled down after head coach Jim Turgeon took a timeout with 8:37 left in the quarter as the Pioneers ripped off eight-straight points to grab their first lead of the game. Smith then added a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to three with 5:10 left in the first.

DU and SDSU then traded buckets, but a pair of free throws from South Dakota State's Sydney Palmer evened the game at 15 after one period.

Again, the Jackrabbits exploded out of the quarter, this time putting together an 11-0 outburst in the first 3:52 of the second. Denver got back into the contest prior to the break with 14-10 spurt to make the score 36-29 after two periods.

Denver shot just 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) from the floor and 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from downtown while South Dakota State shot 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) from the field. Nelson led DU with seven points and four rebounds while Grace White added six points and two boards in the first half.

It was more of the same in the third quarter as the Jacks opened with a 13-2 stretch to grab their largest lead of the game at 54-31. Despite trailing by 20-plus points the Pioneers showed no quit and cut the Jack's lead to 18 points at the end of three periods.

DU continued to cut into the lead in the first few minutes of the fourth thanks to five-straight points to open the frame. South Dakota State never panicked in spite of the Denver run, scoring seven consecutive points to regain the 20 point lead prior to the media timeout. Following the break Denver kept up the pressure but could not get closer than 19.

Next up: Denver will break for the weekend and return to action next Thursday, January 19^th when the Pioneers host North Dakota State at 7 p.m. MT.

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