VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of Denver women's basketball team lost 73-58 to #23 South Dakota on Thursday evening. The loss ends a two game winning-streak for DU and drops the Pios to 14-12 overall and 7-6 in the Summit League.

The score was tied 15-15 after one period but the Coyotes outscored Denver 48-30 in the second and third to take control of the game.

Samantha Romanowski led the team with 12 points and five assists while playing a team-high 36 minutes.

Madison Nelson eclipsed double-figures for the 22^nd game this season, tallying 11 points and six rebounds.

Lauren Loven added one 3 to her league-leading season total and finished with 10 points, one steal and one assist.

USD exploded out of the gates, going on an 8-0 run in the first 2-plus minutes of the game but DU answered the early blow with an 8-2 burst to trail by just two at the first media break. Out the timeout South Dakota extended its lead back to six, nonetheless the Pios hung tough and tied the game at 15 prior to the end of the first quarter.

Loven led the team with four points in the quarter while Romanowski, Nelson and Claire Gritt all had three apiece.

The back-and-forth action continued in the second quarter but the Pios grabbed their first lead of the game after sophomore Grace White hit a 3 to make the score 18-17. The Coyotes proved their toughness after DU took the lead, getting a pair of 3s from Monica Arens and a lay-in from Liv Korngable to take their largest lead of the game.

Following the media break USD extended its lead to 11 points with just over a minute left in the half, but a three from Romanowski on the following possession made it 32-24 after 20 minutes of action.

The teams combined to shoot just 20-of-58 (34.4 percent) from the floor but South Dakota shot 6-of-13 (46.1 percent) from downtown to hold the eight point halftime lead.

Again, South Dakota started the third quarter with a bang, extending its lead back to double-digits in the first two minutes of play. Despite Denver getting as close as seven points, the Coyotes stayed calm and pushed the lead to 46-34 at the media timeout.

With its largest lead USD saw the Pios get within nine points with just under three minutes left in the quarter, but an 8-0 spurt forced head coach Jim Turgeon to call timeout and stop the bleeding. The Coyote run continued after the break as South Dakota extended the lead to 63-45 at the end of three periods.

Despite trailing by nearly 20 points DU refused to go away, using a 9-4 surge to cut the deficit to 67-54 at the final media timeout. With 4:37 left on the clock the Coyotes went to clock-killing mode and successfully wrapped up their 11^th-straight Summit League win while moving back into a tie for first place with South Dakota State.

Next up: Denver will play its final road game of the regular season on Saturday morning at North Dakota beginning at 10 am MT.

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