ST. PAUL, Minn.  – The University of Denver women's basketball program fell to St. Thomas 56-48 on Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena   
 
Inside The Box Score:
Uju Ezeudu tied the game-high with 17 points to go with five rebounds, three steals and two blocks for the Pioneers. Anna Jackson hit a stretch of four of five three-pointers to finish with 12 points to go with three steals. Makayla Minett pulled down a team-high six rebounds to go with two blocks, teaming up with Ezeudu for four of Denver's six blocks on the night.
 
St. Thomas had four players in double figures, led by Erin Norling's 17 for the Tommies.
 
Denver forced St. Thomas into 23 turnovers, including 11 that Denver recorded steals on, but the Pioneers shot just 29.2 percent on the offensive end, including 5-for-28 from three-point range in the loss.
 
First Quarter:
Ezeudu got the Pioneers started on the offensive end, scoring on two of Denver's first three possessions in the paint to give the Pios an early 4-2 lead. Both teams hit an offensive lull, and the game went into the under-5 media timeout tied at 4-4.
 
St. Thomas ended the quarter on an 8-0 run, holding the Pioneers without a point in the final 8:26 of the period to take a 10-4 lead into second quarter.
 
Second Quarter:
Ezeudu broke a scoring drought of over 10 minutes for the Pioneers to cut the Tommies' eight point lead back to six a couple of minutes into the second quarter. The Denver junior added another bucket and a pair of free-throws to get into double figures for the eighth-straight game and the 12^th time in 13 games this season less than 16 minutes into the contest.
 
Jackson made consecutive triples late in the quarter to break the ice for the Pioneers from beyond the arc and cut the St. Thomas lead to five at the intermission.
 
Denver shot 7-for-32 (21.9%) in the first half, while the Tommies shot 10-for-22 (45.5%) on the other side in the opening 20 minutes. Ezeudu led the Pioneers with her 10 points on 4-of-5 from around the cup and a pair of free-throws.
 
Third Quarter:
Jackson buried her third triple of the game to cut the deficit to two to start the second half, her fifth-straight game with at least three made triples, and her seventh game with at least three this season.
 
The Tommies responded with an 11-2 run in a 3:14 span to push their lead back to 11 to force a Denver timeout with 6:22 to go in the third.
 
Out of the second media timeout of the quarter, Denver got the ball inside with Minett and Ezeudu making back-to-back layups with a foul to cut the St. Thomas lead back down to eight. UST led by nine heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Meghan Boyd hit her first three of the night early in the fourth quarter to cut the St. Thomas lead to six.
 
Denver got the lead down to four before with a layup from Makayla Minett, but the Pioneers couldn't get it back down to a one-possession game before the Tommies ran off four-straight points to make it 54-46 with 3:07 to play.
 
The teams traded a basket each in the final 3:07 with Tess Santos closing out the scoring with 14 seconds to play to send Denver into the holiday break with a 56-48 loss against the Summit League newcomers.   
 
Notes:

• Uju Ezeudu finished in double figures for the eighth-straight game, the 12^th time this season and the 46^th time in her career.
• Anna Jackson finished in double figures for the fifth-straight game, the eighth time this season and the 19^th time in her career.

 
What's Next:
Denver will return home for the first time in Summit League play when the Pioneers host Oral Roberts a week from Thursday (December 30) at 7 p.m. MT.
 
DENVER TICKET OFFICE:
For women's basketball ticket information, click here
 
CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION:
For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
DONATE:
Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom, in the classroom and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
 
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports.-
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Women's Basketball on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_Whoops on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @du_whoops on Instagram