GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of Denver women's basketball team won 92-91 in overtime over North Dakota on Saturday morning. With the win, Denver moves to 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the league while locking up a top-5 seed for next month's Summit League tournament.

DU led for nearly 35 minutes of regulation but a fourth quarter rally from UND that included an 11-0 stretch had Denver down three with under 10 seconds to play. With one final chance Madison Nelson drove the lane and found Haley Simental who hit an NBA-range three to send the game to overtime.

The Pioneers settled down in the overtime period and opened up an 89-82 lead thanks to a handful of free throws from Nelson, Simental and Tsimba Malonga. North Dakota's Lexi Klabo then hit back-to-back 3s but three free throws from Samantha Romanowski put Denver in front by four with under ten seconds to play. UND hit a last-second three to cut the deficit to one but time had run out on the Fighting Hawks.  

Lauren Loven led the team with 24 points despite fouling out early in the fourth quarter. The junior shot 6-of-13 from 3 and tied the single-season Summit League record for 3s made with 99.

Nelson recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds while playing 38 minutes for DU.

Romanowski played a team-high 43 minutes and had 15 points, three rebounds, three steals and one assist.

Malonga logged a career-high 29 minutes, producing 10 points, four assists and three rebounds.

North Dakota opened senior day with a bang, scoring the first seven points of the morning. Denver finally got on the board when Nelson hit one-of-two from the line but a Faith Dooley layup forced head coach Jim Turgeon to take an early timeout trailing 9-1.

The Pios responded after the break, going on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 11-9 with 5:47 left in the quarter. The game settled down over the final half of the quarter but Denver used four 3s from Loven to hold a 26-20 lead after 10 minutes.

UND got within three points of the DU Lead at the beginning of the second quarter after free throws from Klabo and a jumper from Jill Morton. Denver got right back in its groove ripping off a 15-7 spurt over the next 4:02 of the quarter.

Leading 42-31, the Pioneers traded baskets with the Fighting Hawks for the remaining 3:35 of the half as DU led 47-35 with 20 minutes in the books. Loven led Denver with 17 first-half points while shooting 5-of-10 from downtown and 6-of-11 overall. Romanowski added 12 points while Nelson provided nine points and five boards.

The Crimson and Gold exploded out of the half, opening up a 57-40 lead thanks to another 3 from Loven and an old-fashioned 3-point play from Claire Gritt. Despite trailing by nearly 20 points the Fighting Hawks refused to go away and cut Denver's lead to just 13 at the media timeout.

Following the timeout, the UND run continued, closing the quarter with an 11-7 stretch to make it 68-59 after three periods.

The offenses slowed down to begin the final period but a jumper from Nelson put Denver ahead 73-61 with 8:09 to play. North Dakota then went on an 11-0 outburst over the next 4:06 of the quarter, cutting the DU lead to just one with 3:05 left in the game.

After the final media timeout, Nelson put DU back up three but a layup from Julia Fleecs and a free throw from Morton tied the game at 75 with 1:22 to play. Following a series of timeouts, the Fighting Hawks were fouled on consecutive possessions, hitting 3-of-4 free throws to take a 78-75 lead with 19 seconds to play.

The Pioneers had one final chance with under three seconds as Nelson drove the lane and kicked to Simental who hit an NBA-range 3 to send the game into overtime.

Denver controlled most of the overtime period, opening up a lead as large as seven with under 30 seconds left. Klabo would hit two 3s for UND but Romanowski hit three free throws in between to seal the victory for the Pioneers.  

Next up: Denver returns to action on Thursday, February 28 when it hosts Western Illinois at 1 pm MT.

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Play4Kay Game: 
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