WASHINGTON D.C.  – The [15/14] University of Denver women's lacrosse team played 60 minutes of solid defense, and got eight different goal scorers in on the action as the Pioneers won their first BIG EAST Conference Tournament title with a 13-7 win over [-/RV] UConn on Saturday afternoon at Cooper Field.
 
The Pioneers extended their winning streak to 15 games, winning their second conference tournament title in program history (2014 MPSF).
 
Inside the Box Score:
Caroline Wiseman netted the only hat trick for the Pioneers in the win. Eliza Radochonski got two more to cap off an eight-goal weekend. Kayla DeRose added a pair of second half goals to the score for the Pios. Denver's defense forced 14 caused turnovers, led by three from Molly Little. Anna Palmisano, Sammie Morton, Gracie DeRose and Sam Thacker had two caused turnovers apiece.
 
All Tournament Team:
Eliza Radochosnki, Denver
Sam Thacker, Denver
Hannah Liddy, Denver
Molly Little, Denver
Kailee Lammers, Denver
Stephanie Palmucci, UConn
Sydney Watson, UConn
Alyssa Conklin, UConn
Natalia Lynch, Georgetown
Mary Pagano, Georgetown
Sydney Frank, Villanova
Caroline Curnal, Villanova
 
Most Outstanding Player
Sam Thacker, Denver
 
First Half:
A first half hat trick for Wiseman, goals seven and eight of the tournament for Radochonski and a goal and three assists from Behrins highlighted the Denver offense in the first half, while Denver's defense held UConn to just eight shots on goal in the opening 30 minutes to give the Pioneers an 8-5 lead heading into the locker room. Little and Thacker led Denver's defense in the first half with two caused turnovers apiece.
 
Wiseman opened the scoring 1:42 into the game with her 20^th tally of the season. Stephanie Palmucci scored back-to-back goals for the Huskies to give UConn its first lead with 24:09 to go. Wiseman converted Behrins first assist to tie it up at 2-2 with 21:55.
 
Kyra Place made it 3-2 Huskies before the Pioneers went on a 6-1 run in an 11 minute span to give the Pioneers an 8-4 lead with 4:01 to go. Curry reached double digits in goals to make it 3-3, Radochonski made it 4-3 and Little scored in transition to make it 5-3 Pioneers with 10:50 to play in the opening half.
 
After UConn's only goal of the 6-1 first half run for Denver, Radochonski converted a Kailey Conry feed off a free-position attempt, Behrins side-armed home a feed from Mackenzie Wallevand and Wiseman completed her first half hat trick to push the Denver lead to 8-4. Sydney Watson scored with 41 ticks left on the clock to cut the Denver lead to three heading into the intermission.
 
Second Half:
UConn got the first two goals of the second half to cut the Denver lead to 8-7 with 28:07. The Pioneers turned up its defensive pressure again, and got three-straight goals in the next 19 minutes, getting tallies from Wallevand, Hannah Liddy and DeRose.
 
The Pioneers defense held UConn without a goal in the final 28:07, and DeRose and Gilbert added two more for the Pioneers to cap off the scoring and give Denver the six-goal win.
 
Significant Stats:

• Ellie Curry became Denver's ninth double digit goal scorer this season, the first time the Pioneers have had that many reach double digits in the program's Division I history. Denver has had at least eight double digit goal scorers eight times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021)
• Denver won its second Division I conference tournament title on Saturday, including its first in the BIG EAST Conference.

 
Up Next: The Pioneers await the 2021 NCAA Lacrosse Selection Show set for Sunday at 7 p.m. MT. This year's show will have a joint reveal of the men's and women's brackets on ESPNU.
 
CORONAVIRUS UPDATES: For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.

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