The DU Women’s Basketball team ended its three-game losing streak, defeating Fort Wayne 86-65 on their home court on Feb. 4. With the win, Crimson and Gold basketball improved to a 13-11 record overall and a 4-5 record in the Summit League, while the Mastodons dropped to 4-19 and 1-9 in the league.
Five DU players scored in double figures, and junior guard Samantha Romanowski (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) led the team with a game-high 18 points, while adding a career-high of six steals. She shot 88.9 percent on the game (8-for-9) from the field and 100 percent (2-for-2) from behind the three-point line.
Sophomore guard Briana Johnson (Carson, Calif.) totaled 12 points, freshman guard Claire Gritt (Arlington Heights, Ill.), sophomore guard Lauren Loven (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and sophomore forward Madison Nelson (Dover, Minn.) all scored 11 points. Nelson almost had a double-double in the game, as she grabbed a team-high of nine rebounds.
Denver shot 47.1 percent (33-70) from field-goal range and 35.7 percent (5-14) from behind the arc. The squad also grabbed 39 rebounds, forced 22 turnovers and had 11 steals.
In the first three minutes of the game, Fort Wayne took a 7-6 lead over the Pioneers. But Denver responded by hitting back-to-back threes from Romanowski and Gritt. The Crimson and Gold then went on an 11-3 run, and had a seven-point advantage, 24-17 with 15 seconds to play in the first quarter. Fort Wayne ended the quarter with momentum, though, as Kierstyn Repp hit a shot from behind the arc to limit the Denver lead to four points to end the period.
Denver started the second quarter strong with an 8-2 run, which gave the Denver squad a 10-point lead. At the half, the Pioneers dominated a 17-point lead, 47-30. The Denver offense was dominant in the first half, as the team shot 57.6 percent (19-33) from the field and 40 percent (4-10) from three-point range. The Pioneers grabbed 14 rebounds, six assists and forced 13 turnovers.
In the first half, Romanowski scored 14 points, shooting 85.7 percent (6-7) from field-goal range and a perfect 100 percent (2-2) from behind the arch.
Fort Wayne started the second half with an 8-4 run, trimming DU’s lead to 13 points. After the Mastodons cut the DU advantage to only 15 points, Loven responded for Denver, sinking a three. Se also drew a foul and connected for the extra point. The four-point play put DU up by 19 with just 3:46 left in the third quarter.
To start the fourth quarter, the Pioneers took their largest lead of the contest, 69-58, with a Romanowski drive to the basket. The game ended with a 21-point win over Fort Wayne.
Denver basketball returns on Feb. 8, as they travel to Brookings, S.D. to take on the Jackrabbits.
