DENVER – The University of Denver women's basketball team earned its third straight victory Thursday night after blowing out Colorado Christian with an 89-49 win in Hamilton Gymnasium.

"Our starting group and Jasmine (Jeffcoat) were really good," said head coach Jim Turgeon. "For the majority of the game we played our style and our defense is getting better and better."

Senior Madison Nelson recorded her fourth straight double-double, 16th of her career, with a season- and game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Uju Ezeudu notched her second career double-double with 19 points and a game-best 13 boards. A 7-of-10 performance from the field gave junior Claire Gritt a season-most 18 points to go along with four assists.

Senior Lauren Loven knocked down three shots behind the arc to move into sole possession of fifth place in the Summit League record book with 264 threes made in her career.

Turgeon's squad shot 51.5 percent from the field while grabbing 51 rebounds, both season highs.

Marie Tsoungui hit a three 27 seconds into the contest to put the Cougars up early, their only lead of the game. Denver followed up with a 10-0 run over a 2:15 stretch that was sparked by an Ezeudu and-one at the 9:19 mark, leading to a Colorado Christian timeout. Ezeudu and Gritt combined for the Pioneers' first 14 points.

After an explosive 36-point first quarter which also saw DU allow a season-low 12 points, both teams opened the second shooting 4-of-4 from the field. Following the media timeout with 5:44 remaining with the half, Denver closed the half on an 11-5 run to go into the break ahead 58-29.

The Pioneers opened the second half on a 7-0 run to force a Colorado Christian timeout at the 7:44 mark, holding a 65-29 advantage.

Denver kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter, holding the Cougars to 1-of-10 shooting from the field to close the game and cruise to an 89-49 win.

UP NEXT
Denver hosts the Pioneer Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 29-30 that will play host to U.C. Irvine, Alabama A&M, and North Alabama. The Pioneers open the tournament at 3:30 p.m. (MT) against U.C. Irvine on Nov. 29.

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