SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Denver women's basketball program fell to third-seeded South Dakota 61-50 in the fourth and final Summit League Quarterfinal on Friday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
 
LEADERS:
Brooke Murrell led Denver with 13 points and four rebounds, one of three Pioneers to finish in double figures on Friday afternoon. Coryn Watts and Jocelyn Medina had 11 points apiece in the loss.
 
Angelina Robles led the Coyotes with 21 points and 3 steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter:
Brooke Murrell broke the ice 90 seconds in, and Tori Baker knocked down Denver's first attempt from beyond the arc on the day to give Denver and early 5-2 advantage.
 
On the other side of the media timeout, South Dakota scored seven straight while holding Denver without a bucket in more than three minutes to stretch its first quarter lead to 15-9 with 1:34 remaining.
 
Jocelyn Medina carved into the paint late in the quarter and got an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the Pioneers deficit to just three at the end of 10 minutes of play.
 
Second Quarter:
Medina hit a pair of technical free-throws to open the second quarter and cut the South Dakota lead to one. Both defenses turned up the heat in the early stages of the second quarter, with both teams going scoreless for over two minutes before a pair of South Dakota free-throws made it a 19-14 game at the six-minute mark.
 
South Dakota's defense stretched Denver's scoring drought to 5:36, stretching its run to 11-0 and its lead to 25-14 with under three minutes to play. Murrell got a much needed second-chance bucket to stop the drought with her second basket of the afternoon.
 
The Coyotes continued to close the half strong and took a 33-19 into the locker room.
 
Third Quarter:
South Dakota connected on its first four shots, including three from beyond the arc out of the locker room to stretch the Coyotes advantage to 44-23 with 7:11 to go, forcing a Denver timeout.
 
USD's defense held Denver to another three-minute scoreless stretch to continue to build on its advantage late in the third quarter. Laila McLeod connected on Denver's first triple since the opening minutes of the game to end the drought and cut the deficit to 19 with under two minutes to play in the frame. The Coyotes took a 48-29 lead into the final 10 minutes.
 
Fourth Quarter:
Denver knocked down four of its first five shots in the fourth to cut into the deficit and force a South Dakota timeout with 6:30 remaining in regulation. Coryn Watts hit a triple and Murrell got into double figures in the stretch.
 
A Laia Monclova triple and a Medina layin gave Denver another mini 5-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 14 with under three minutes to go.
 
Baker connected on an old-fashioned three-point play and a pair from the line from Watts continued to chip into the deficit, making it a 61-49 game with 64 seconds to play.
 
NOTES:
Denver outscored South Dakota 21-13 in the fourth quarter.
Brooke Murrell finished with 13 points, 2 blocks and 4 rebounds.
Murrell finished in double figures for the fifth time this season and the sixth time in her career.
Jocelyn Medina finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Medina finished in double figures for the second-straight game and the 10^th time this season.
Coryn Watts finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Watts finished in double figures for the sixth-straight game, the 27^th time this season and the 33^rd time in her career.
 
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