STORRS, Conn. – The No. 3 Denver Pioneers women's lacrosse team controlled the circle on Saturday and held an opponent to fewer than 10 goals for the 13th time this season in a 14-9 victory against the No. 25 Connecticut Huskies at Morrone Stadium.
 
Denver (13-0, 3-0 Big East) won the draw-control battle 20-7 and used that possession to connect on the scoreboard. The Pioneers had an 11-5 edge in draw controls the first half and led 9-5 at the break. In the final 30 minutes, DU earned 9-of-11 draws and outscored UConn (8-4, 1-1 Big East) by a 5-4 margin.
 
Junior Abby Jenkins led the Pioneers with 10 draw controls while senior Sam Thacker recorded a season-high six. It was the sixth time in Jenkins' career with 10 or more draw controls.
 
DU was led offensively by three players that registered hat tricks in the contest. Senior Julia Gilbert, junior Sloane Kipp and freshman Ryan Dineen each tallied three goals, while Kipp also added an assist to finish with a game-high four points. Graduate student Kayla DeRose and sophomore Lauren Black scored two markers as well, and senior Ellie Curry recorded two points with a goal and an assist.
 
Goalkeeper Emelia Bohi made nine saves, with seven coming on free-position shots. UConn went 1-for-8 from the eight-meter while Denver finished 8-for-11.
 
The Pioneers outshot the Huskies 30-22 overall in the contest, including by a 13-4 margin in the first quarter and 10-4 in the third. Connecticut goalie Landyn White made eight stops.
 
With the game tied at 3-3 late in the first quarter, DU went on a five-goal run and scored four times in the final 2:46 of the opening frame to take a lead it didn't relinquish. It was part of an overall 8-2 run by the Pioneers and during a stretch where they outscored the Huskies 11-4 from early in the first quarter to midway through the third.
 
Graduate student Trinity McPherson led Denver by picking up five ground balls while junior Bryn McCaughey recorded three. However, UConn finished with the overall edge in loose balls at 20-18.
 
Three Connecticut players finished with multi-goal outings, as Lia Laprise, Madelyn George and Susan Lafountain each tallied twice.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers will have a another two-game week coming up beginning with hosting Stanford under the lights at Peter Barton Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. DU then travels to Cincinnati to take on the Big East's newest team in Xavier on Sunday, April 16, at 10 a.m. MT.
 
NOTES

• Denver is now 9-0 all-time against Connecticut and was playing its first game in Storrs since April 11, 2021.
• The Pioneers are on a 13-game winning streak, taking sole possession of the fourth-longest in program history.
• DU has now won 24 consecutive conference regular-season games dating back to April 28, 2018.
• Julia Gilbert recorded her eighth hat trick of the season and third in as many games. She has scored in all 13 outings this year.
• Gilbert went 2-for-2 on free-position shots and now has 12 on the season, the most in a single campaign by a Pioneers since Quintin Hoch-Bullen had 13 in just eight games in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign.
• Sloan Kipp has now recorded a hat trick in back-to-back contests. Each of her three goals came on free positions.
• Ryan Dineen posted her third hat trick of the season.
• Abby Jenkins earned 10 draw controls for the sixth time in her career. She now owns six of the top 15 individual draw control games in program history.

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
10:12 UConn (0-1) – Lia Laprise, assisted by Susan Lafountain
9:14 DU (1-1) – Julia Gilbert (FPS)
7:55 DU (2-1) – Julia Gilbert, assisted by Sloane Kipp
6:30 DU (3-1) – Ellie Curry, unassisted
5:39 UConn (3-2) – Lia Laprise, assisted by Kate Shaffer
3:42 UConn (3-3) – Kate Shaffer, unassisted
2:46 DU (4-3) – Lauren Black, unassisted
1:57 DU (5-3) – Kayla DeRose, assisted by Ellie Curry
1:15 DU (6-3) – Sloane Kipp (FPS)
0:12 DU (7-3) – Ryan Dineen, unassisted
 
Second Quarter
13:28 DU (8-3) – Julia Gilbert (FPS)
12:26 UConn (8-4) – Madelyn George, assisted by Lia Laprise
8:31 UConn (8-5) – Grace Coon, assisted by Rayea Davis
3:22 DU (9-5) – Kayla DeRose, unassisted
 
Third Quarter
13:52 DU (10-5) – Sloane Kipp (FPS)
10:48 DU (11-5) – Lauren Black (FPS)
6:38 UConn (11-6) – Madelyn George, unassisted
4:34 DU (12-6) – Sloane Kipp (FPS)
3:33 DU (13-6) – Ryan Dineen (FPS)
1:45 DU (13-7) – Rayea Davis (FPS)
 
Fourth Quarter
5:52 UConn (13-8) – Susan Lafountain, assisted by Grace Coon
4:52 DU (14-8) – Ryan Dineen (FPS)
1:55 UConn (14-9) – Susan Lafountain (FPS)
 
 
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