The University of Denver women’s basketball team won both of its games this week by defeating South Alabama at home on Wednesday 61-56 and Troy on the road Saturday 64-54.
These two wins improve the Pioneers’ record to 12-9 (7-3 SBC) with eight games remaining in the season.
DU got off to a slow start Wednesday in Magness Arena where it looked like the Jaguars would be able run away with the game, led by forward Ra’Shawna Sippio, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior Pioneer guard Celena Otero knew that DU would have to grind it out if the team was going to get back in the game.
“We were thinking that we have to dig down and make her feel pressured so that she’s taking tough shots,” said Otero. “We just had to put pressure on her, make her miss and rebound the ball.”
Otero led DU to do just that as she had 10 rebounds and three blocks on the game, which helped pull the Pioneers into a three-point lead at the end of the first half.
Although at this point the Pioneers have gotten the defensive side of the game together, they headed to the locker room to figure how to coordinate the offense in the second half.
“Obviously it was not our best night offensively,” said head coach Erik Johnson. “But again, the mark of a good team is that even when things are not going well, this team never blinks. You look in their eyes and they are never thinking oh my gosh, things are going bad. They’re just like, ‘Coach, we need the next play.Let’s figure out how we’re going to win this game.'”
Sophomore Britteni Rice opened the second half with two quick shots to help DU pull away. She led the Pioneers in scoring at both games this week, with 18 points versus. SA and 15 points at Troy.
However, DU’s lead deflated. The game was tied at 53-53 at the end of regulation and going into overtime.
“We just had to work the ball a little bit better and we did,” said Otero. “We gained a lead that way, but then we stopped rebounding again and that’s how they caught back up.”
For two and a half minutes of overtime, fans watched from the edges of their seats as neither team could break the deadlock.
Then, Rice hit a three followed by two quick lay-ups from freshman forward Kaetlyn Murdoch (11 points, seven rebounds, three blocks) to pull the Pioneers out in front and seal up the game.
“It wasn’t our best performance, but we came out and got the job done,” said Rice.
“Oh yeah that three was huge,” Johnson said. “We have had different people step up and hit huge shots in huge situations.”
With freshman guard Jenny Vaughn out sick, Otero and teammates had to adjust their tactics.
“Celena Otero has been our Miss Clutch all the way through this season, hitting big threes,” said Johnson. “C had to play so many minutes and carry the point guard spot and other people had to step up down the stretch. Britteni hit the huge shot. Kaetlyn makes those two big lay-ups. This team, they never quit, they always know that they can count on each other.”
The Pioneers return home this Wednesday to host Middle Tennessee in Magness Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
