Both DU men’s and women’s basketball teams lost in the quarterfinal of the Summit League tournament on Friday, bringing an end to what had been elevated March Madness hopes. 

The women’s team came into the tournament seeded No. 6 in the Summit League, matching them against No. 3 South Dakota. 

Denver came into this game looking to pull off an upset, but was shut down right away. They kept it close in the first quarter, holding the lead multiple times. 

In the second, South Dakota pulled away. They went on a 14-3 run and ended the half leading 33-19. Denver shot 2-13 from the field and 0-6 from three in the second quarter. 

Down at the half, they were unable to make a comeback, despite scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter. Redshirt sophomore Brooke Murrell led Denver in scoring with 13 points while Angelina Robles, who transferred from Denver to South Dakota last year, led the game with 21 points.  

South Dakota went on to lose in the next round to South Dakota State who won the tournament. 

The men’s team, also ranked No. 6, suffered a similar fate in their quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 North Dakota State. They were blown out of the water in the first half, going into the locker room down 42-29. 

Despite a better second half, they were unable to cut down on the lead and lost 83-67. 

North Dakota’s dominance was largely due to a 41 point performance from Greyson Uelmen. Sophomore guard Carson Johnson, who was the leading scorer in the Summit League and both the Summit League Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, could not keep up with Uelmen’s individual pace, scoring just 17 points. 

North Dakota went on to the Summit League final where they lost to North Dakota State. 
These losses marked the last Summit League games for both teams, as Denver basketball will be transitioning to the West Coast Conference next year. With the introduction of Tim Bergstraser at the start of the year, hopes were high to take a Summit League title, but once again, Denver basketball has fallen short.