OMAHA – The University of Denver women's basketball team dropped its regular season finale Omaha by a count of 83-73 on Saturday afternoon inside Baxter Arena.
The Pioneers (12-17, 8-10) had three players score in double figures, led by Emma Smith, who had 26 points. Makayla Minett added 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks and Ally Haar helped out with 11 points.
Denver forced 14 Omaha turnovers while committing just six themselves in Saturday's game. The Pioneers turned those takeaways into 11 points on the offensive end of the floor. Cheyenne Forney led the way individually with one steal.
How It Happened
After falling behind 15-12, Denver went on a 5-0 run with 1:52 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Madelyn Atkins, to take a 17-15 lead. The Pioneers then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 18-17.
The Pioneers then rallied, outscoring the Mavericks 15-13 in the second quarter to take a 32-31 halftime lead. Denver was strong from deep in the period, knocking down three three-point shots to account for nine of its 15 points.
Denver then lost its advantage in the third quarter and trailed the Mavericks 57-47 entering the fourth. Denver scored three fast break points in the quarter.
Omaha kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 64-49 advantage before Denver went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Minett's layup, to shrink the deficit to 64-55 with 6:05 to go in the contest. Omaha responded and outscored the Pioneers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 83-73. Denver took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 26 points in the paint.
GAME NOTES:
- Emma Smith finished with 26 points.
- Smith finished in double figures for the second-straight game and the 19th time this season.
- Smith finished with 20+ points for the third time in four games and the sixth time this season.
- Makayla Minett finished with 12 points and 2 blocks.
- Minett finished in double figures for the 10th time this season and the 14th time in her career.
- Minett now has 72 blocks on the season, which ranks in the top-10 nationally.
- Ally Haar finished with 11 points
- Haar finished in double figures for the second-straight game, the 15th time this season and the 38th time in her career.
UP NEXT: Denver heads to Sioux Falls next weekend for the 2023 Summit League Women's Basketball Championships. The bracket will be confirmed following the rest of today's games in the league.
LONG BALL ELITE: Back for a second season, the Denver women's basketball program is running its Long Ball Elite fundraiser in 2022-23. Fans in a position to donate, consider pledging a dollar amount per 3-pointer made by the DU Pioneers this season. Join the Long Ball Elite campaign today.
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This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
