Photo by: Andrew Fielding
The women’s basketball team (13-10, 5-5 SBC) stumbled this past week, dropping two games on the road to Arkansas-Little Rock on Wednesday night and to Arkansas State on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Pioneers managed only 39 points against the best defensive team in the Sun Belt Conference, falling 46-39.
“I’m proud of our effort tonight against the best defensive team in the Sun Belt, and one of the best in the country,” said head coach Erik Johnson after the game. “We always play this team very tough and points are always tough to come by.”
The Pioneers fared well on the defensive side for themselves holding the Trojans to 26.3 percent shooting, but on the offensive side they struggled shooting 27.5 percent from the floor.
Kaetlyn Murdoch was able to come up with her twentieth double-double of her career, the fifth this season, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Brianna Culberson added 10 points for the Pioneers.
On Saturday, the Pioneers found more offense, but still came up short on the defensive end. The Pioneers dropped their second consecutive contest to ASU, 62-53.
“As poorly as we did shooting the ball in the first half, I’m very proud of the toughness and the composure that our kids showed during halftime and the second half,” said Johnson after the Pioneers shoot 12.5 percent from the filed in the first half. “The tone in the locker room was, I thought, really encouraging.”
The halftime adjustment allowed the Pioneers to shoot 50 percent from the field in the second half, scoring 43 points in an attempted comeback.
Leading the way for the Pioneers was Murdoch who finished with a game-high 23 points while adding nine rebounds. Britteni Rice added eight points and six rebounds, while Culberson contributed four points and seven rebounds.
“We played well in the second half, but the deficit was just too much to overcome,” said Johnson.
The Pioneers won the rebound battle, 47-36, however didn’t score enough down the second half stretch.
DU looks to rebound following two losses on the road this past weekend, which has positioned them as the No. 3 team in the West Division of the SBC, a game and half behind Louisiana Monroe and now five games behind UALR for the top spot.
The Pioneers’ next match up is against Florida Atlantic University at Magness Arena on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. MST.
