Despite dominating performances from a number of underclassmen last week, the Pioneer women’s basketball team dropped two games on the road after being edged 68-67 by San Jose State on Thursday and then falling 85-69 to Utah State on Saturday evening.
The losses drop DU to 8-11 overall and 3-5 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play, moving the Pioneers to No. 8 in the WAC. Utah State, who currently sits at No. 2 in the WAC, improved to a 5-2 conference record.
“We definitely had a tough week on the road,” said senior point guard Emiko Smith. “Like any other college team, it’s tough to play on the road. You have to be extremely focused and extremely prepared, and we just couldn’t get it done this week.”
Pioneering the underclassman surge was sophomore Morgan Van Riper-Rose, who led Denver with 19 points on Thursday against the Spartans. Van Riper-Rose currently leads the team with 259 points, averaging 13.6 points per game on the season.
Sophomore Jordan Johnston and senior Emiko Smith added 11 points apiece on Thursday, but the Pioneers were unable to keep pace with a Spartan team led by Ta’Rea Cunnigan, who dominated the evening’s scoring with 28 points.
It was a close contest from start to finish, with Denver trailing only one point at half (33-32) and then claiming a one-point lead midway through the second half. With five seconds remaining in the game, however, the Pioneers had returned to a one-point disadvantage and were unable to convert on a pair of field goal attempts to secure the victory.
“It’s hard to lose another close one, but the thing that gives the team confidence is that we’re right there,” said head coach Kerry Cremeans.
“We’re in every game, and we know it’s just the little things like free throws or layups that really make the difference. The fight and the heart are always there, and the pride for this university is always there, and we’ll continue to work hard.”
Underclassmen step up for Pioneers
The underclassman trend continued on Saturday when the Pioneers traveled to Logan, Utah, to take on the Aggies. Freshmen guards Michaela Neuhaus and Kailey Edwards led the team with 18 points each, both posting career-best performances, while Edwards also tallied seven rebounds.
“Those girls are playing with a lot of heart,” said Smith. “They are really young, and they don’t know what else to do except play hard, and sometimes that’s just what you need.”
A number of Pioneers contributed on Saturday, including Smith, who was again high on the leaderboards with 10 points and seven rebounds, and junior Maiya Michel, who posted a team-high nine rebounds. Michel leads the Pioneers with 158 rebounds so far this season, averaging nearly nine rebounds per game.
Similar to Thursday’s contest, the Pioneers struggled to control their opponent’s key player of the night, allowing senior guard Devyn Christensen to post 25 points for the Aggies, 23 of which came in the first half.
Close behind Christensen was Utah State’s junior guard Jennifer Schlott, who posted 15 points and nine rebounds during the contest. Schlott was named the WAC player of the week on Monday for her performance.
Utah State dominated the first half of the game, shooting 63.3 percent on 19-of-30 compared to Denver’s 34.3 percent. At half, the Aggies led 51-33, and the Pioneers were unable to shrink the gap to less than 16 points during the second half.
“You have to give Utah State credit for the first 20 minutes, because they came out shooting the lights out, but I’m not proud of our effort defensively in the first half, and that will be corrected,” said Cremeans.
“We’re disappointed, but I saw some bright spots in two freshmen, Michaela and Kailey, who came out and fought hard. I liked seeing that fire and that fight in those kids, and we’ll continue to build on that.”
Up next, the Pioneers will play their lone game of the week when they host New Mexico State (9-9, 3-5 WAC) at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Magness Arena. The Aggies, currently sitting at No. 7 in the WAC, will enter the contest coming off a four-game losing streak, mirroring almost identically Denver’s last four losses.
The Pioneers will have to focus on containing redshirt senior guard Stefanie Gilbreath, who is averaging 15.3 points per game this season, and sophomore guard Danesia Williamson, who is close behind with 12.9 points per game.
“We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and having all week to prepare and get back on track for Saturday,” said Smith.
