On Jan. 18, the University of Denver women’s basketball team hosted a hard-fought battle against the Kansas City Roos. Despite losing 77-68, multiple players from the Denver team had standout performances.
The Roos had a dominant first quarter, starting off the game with back-to-back 5-0 runs. Going 8-for-9 from the field in the middle of the period, the Roos came out to fight. Nevertheless, DU worked hard to end the quarter with only a six-point deficit. Senior Meghan Boyd (Eagle, Idaho) and junior Uju Ezeudu (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) led the first quarter with eight and six points, respectively.
As the second quarter continued, Denver once again had to regain ground after a Kansas City break away. After using a timeout to stop a 10-3 run, DU faced an intimidating 32-19 scoreboard. However, the home team was able to reduce the lead to 10 by the time the halftime buzzer rang. Led by Ezeudu, who made six out of six free-throw attempts, DU took advantage of their time on the line and went 10-for-12 as a team.
The Colorado players also notably had only five turnovers in the first 20 minute period, a stark contrast to Kansas City’s 14 turnovers. The Denver team went into the locker room ready to fight thanks to their concentration on the free-throw line and their ability to take care of the ball.
DU opened the third quarter by cutting the Roo’s lead to only six points with a three-pointer from senior Anna Jackson (Flower Mound, Texas) and a shot from Boyd. Jackson then made another triple later in the quarter to help keep the Kansas City lead at single digits. Boyd once again led the boards this quarter with seven points and three assists.
Despite coming close, Denver was not able to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Kansas City gained an early 13-point lead, and DU only managed to come within seven points of the Roos at the end of the game. A final score of 73-66 puts the home team at 5-14 for the season.
The team was led by Boyd with 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ezeudu also had an impressive performance, finishing in double figures for her third game in a row and for the 17th time this season. Graduate student Tess Santos (Lisbon, Portugal) was the last of the Denver players to finish in double-digits with 11 points and an 8-of-8 record from the line. The entire team had an impressive performance from the free-throw line, making over 20 free throws in one game for the first time since 2020.
The Denver women’s basketball team looks to continue their Summit League competition as they face off against Omaha on Jan. 20. The results for this game can be found on the Denver Athletics website.
