The Denver Pioneers defeated the New Orleans Privateers in The Human Performance Center Saturday afternoon with a 64-57 win.
“Because we are a veteran team, we know how to win despite the defense and intensity of the game. We are able to stay calm and collective and win the game. Our confidence and experience has flourished after a few overtime games this season,” said junior guard Brooke Meyer who tied her career-high with 19 points and five made three- point shots.
Although senior guard Tyesha Lowery suffered an injury early in the game and was unable to continue, the Pioneers were able to find open spots on the floor and make shots. Junior Alisha Godette scored eight of DU’s first 13 points helping them create a 12 point lead early in the first half. The Privateers were able to crawl their way back into the game and cut the lead to one, but a three point shot from Meyer late in the fist half helped DU to a 26-23 advantage at half time.
Godette recorded the first five points of the second half as Denver went on a 16-4 run. Godette finished the game with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Other contributors to the game include junior Jenna Cole who scored 12 points and junior Sara Benham who lead the team in rebounding grabbing eight in the contest.
“WeB areB comingB togetherB veryB wellB rightB nowB andB weB haveB aB hugeB weekB of games. WeB areB tiedB forB firstB placeB withB ArkansasB StateB andB Louisiana LafayetteB soB theB emphasisB onB ourB twoB gamesB TuesdayB and Thursday isB huge,” said Meyer about the team’s upcoming contests.
The University of Denver’s women’s basketball team routed the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in a 61-47 win in Magness Arena Thursday evening.
Despite being down 10-0 in the early minutes of the game, the Pioneers turned up their defense and gained a 17-16 point lead. After trading the lead three times and being tied three times, Denver managed to enter the second half of the game on top 27-24.
Starting the second half of play with a jolt of energy, the Pioneers went on an 8-2 run and pushed their lead to 19 at one point.
“Defense is our best offense,” said Lowery.
“At the half, our coaches told us to play with high energy on the defensive end and that would bring us better offense,” added Lowery.
Lowery filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, five assists, a career-high three blocks, and two steals. Junior Sara Benham also had a solid game contributing 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists to the win.
“Coach Tanner and I have been working on my shot. We know that the posts are not the fastest players on the floor, so I looked to take advantage of that,” said Benham about her offensive contributions.
The Pioneers improved their record to 15-9 overall and 9-5 in conference standings. Denver returns home on Tuesday, Feb. 13 to take on Arkansas State (16-8, 9-4 SBC) at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium in SBC action.
