DENVER, CO -- The Denver women's basketball team got a 27-point performance from the bench, but fell, 77-71, to the South Dakota Coyotes at home on Thursday.
Jordan Jones led the Pioneers (7-7, 0-1) with 27 points and six rebounds. Emma Smith also added eight points, six rebounds, seven assists and five steals and Emily Counsel chipped in as well with nine points off of the bench.
Denver forced 17 South Dakota turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Thursday's game. The Pioneers turned those takeaways into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Smith's five steals led the way for Denver.
How It Happened
After playing to a 5-5 tie early in the game, Denver went on a 6-0 run with 7:29 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Lily Esparza, to take an 11-5 lead. The Pioneers then surrendered that lead and entered the second quarter down 16-14.
South Dakota kept adding to that lead, building a 21-17 advantage before Denver went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Jones, to take a 22-21 lead. The Coyotes then came roaring back to take a 34-26 lead heading into halftime.
South Dakota continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 42-32 advantage before Denver went on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Coryn Watts, to trim its deficit to 42-40 with 5:25 to go in the third. The Pioneers were unable to cut further into the deficit, but did not cede ground to South Dakota either and entered the fourth quarter trailing 50-48. Denver played well near the basket, scoring 16 of its 22 points in the paint.
South Dakota kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 53-48 advantage before Denver went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Counsel's three, to seize a 55-53 lead with 7:37 to go in the contest. South Dakota re-asserted control, outscoring the Pioneers 24-16 the rest of the way to hand Denver the 77-71 loss. Denver took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 23 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» The Denver bench made an impact by scoring 27 points to its scoring output.
» The Denver defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Jordan Jones led the Pioneers with 27 points.
» Denver got six rebounds from both Jordan Jones and Emma Smith.
» The Pioneers were able to take a 61-60 lead in the fourth quarter but were unable to hold on for the victory.
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
