CINCINNATI, Ohio - The [10/13] University of Denver women's lacrosse team held off a late rally by the UConn Huskies to earn its fourth consecutive Big East Tournament title and automatic NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday afternoon at Corcoran Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

The Pioneers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first quarter, and held the Huskies scoreless for nearly 20 minutes. Denver's balanced offense shone through, with six players finding the back of the net in the first half of play. Julia Gilbert and Sloane Kipp both earned a pair of goals to give the Pios a 9-4 advantage heading into halftime.

Denver and UConn traded goals in the second half, led by a pair of third-quarter goals by Jane Earley. 

The Huskies went on a 6-1 run in the final frame led by Kate Schaffer and Susan Lafountain, tying the game with 2:38 left to play.

UConn's Abby Beran won the penultimate draw of the match, but sophomore defender Carly Frohnapfel made the play of the game on a caused turnover to give the Pioneers possession with 1:30 on the clock. Denver won the final draw battle off a foul drawn by Gilbert and buried back to back goals with under a minute remaining to secure the 16-14 victory for the Pioneers.

KEY PERFORMANCES:
GIlbert put up another big performance for Denver, with four goals and an assist on the day, with the game-winning goal in tow. Colimore also put up a career-high four goals, alongside a ground ball and caused turnover. Earley earned a hat-trick in the championship win, Sloane Kipp had a pair and Ryan Dineen, Olivia Ripple and Kyra Obert rounded out Denver's scoring effort. 

Olivia Penoyer was handing out the helpers once again, with five assists and tallying four ground balls and a caused turnover. 

Abby Jenkins led the Pios in the circle with six draw controls while Payton Vaughn and Trinity McPherson each picked up three. McPherson also picked up two ground balls and a caused turnover.

On the defensive end, Bryn McCaughey led the charge with five ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Anna Palmisano, Frohnapfel, and Emelia Bohi each had a pair.

Penoyer, the Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Pioneers Gilbert, Sloane Kipp, Bryn McCaughey and Anna Palmisano. Penoyer finished with a tournament-record 13 assists over two games, while Gilbert had a team-high nine goals across the tournament.

NOTES:

• Gilbert extended her team-high point streak to 40 games, posting 133 points in 114 goals and 19 assists in that span.
• The Mclean Virginia native is now sixth with 237 career points
• Colimore recorded a career-high four goals.
• With her five assists on the day, Penoyer moves into a tie for second place in the Pioneer record books with 53 assists this season.
• McPherson moves into 11th with 36 caused turnovers this season. 
• McCaughey is now tied for sixth with 96 career caused turnovers.

Most Outstanding Player
Olivia Penoyer, Denver

BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
Julia Gilbert, Denver
Sloane Kipp, Denver
Bryn McCaughey, Denver
Anna Palmisano, Denver
Olivia Penoyer, Denver
Abby Beran, Connecticut
Susan Lafountain, Connecticut
Kate Shaffer, Connecticut
Tessa Brooks, Georgetown
Maley Starr, Georgetown
Sami Carey, Villanova
Juliet Walls, Villanova



Tune in to the NCAA Selection Show tomorrow at 7 p.m. MT on ESPN2.


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