Lady Hoops
PIONEERS SET TO FACE WIU IN QUARTERFINAL ROUND OF SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNEY!
Game Will Be Broadcast on ESPN3/MidcoSN
Storylines & History
- Eighth-seeded Denver opens up play in the first round of the Summit League tournament on Saturday against the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Western Illinois. Game time is slated for 11 a.m. MT inside the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Saturday will mark the third time this season that the two teams meet with WIU holding a 2-0 advantage.
- The Crimson and Gold trail 7-1 in the all-time series with the Leathernecks.
- In their last meeting, WIU defeated DU by a final score of 80-68 in Denver.
- The Pioneers’ lone victory in the series against WIU came on Jan. 26, 2014 when DU came away with an 87-83 victory inside Magness Arena.
Pioneers This Season
- As a team, DU ranks 24th in the nation in three point field-goal percentage at 36.4 percent on the season. That number ranks DU at third-best in the Summit League in the same category.
- Senior guard Jacqlyn Poss is nearing the 1,000 point club for the Crimson and Gold. The
Minnesota native currently has 971 points on her career, just 29 points shy of entering the elite company of just 23 Pios before her.
- Junior forward Jordyn Alt is on the cusp of breaking into the top 25 in the DU All-Time record books in total career rebounds. The Minnesota native currently has 464 total boards ranking 26th all time.
- The nation’s former three-point field goal leader, freshman guard Lauren Loven, currently ranks 25th in the nation in three-point field goals made this season with 83. With those 83 three’s, Loven earned a No. 15 ranking on the Denver All-Time list in three-point field goals made and is No. 1 in DU history in the category of most three’s made in a single season.
- Senior forward Jesse Spittel leads the Crimson and Gold with 5.4 rebounds per game, 13th-best in the League. Spittel is third all-time in offensive rebounding average with 2.0 per game in her career.
- Freshman guard Briana Johnson made her mark in the DU All-Time record books, ranking No. 1 in the category of free throw percentage. Johnson is 105-of-125 this season from the charity stripe for 84 percent.
- In its last match, Denver scored 78 points in the loss to Omaha. That point total is the second-highest for the Pios this season with the highest being 80 points against North Dakota State on Dec. 31.
Scouting Western Illinois
- Western Illinois comes into Saturday’s contest with a record of 23-6 including going 13-3 in Summit League play, earning the No. 1 overall seed going into the tournament.
- The Leathernecks average 80.4 points per game with a scoring margin of +13.9, ranking 19th in the country in that category.
- WIU is led in scoring by Emily Clemens who averages 19.2 ppg. Morgan Blumer has 16.8 ppg this season for the Leathernecks while Taylor Higginbotham has 14.6 ppg. All three Leathernecks rank in the top 230 scorers in the nation with Clemens ranking 31st.
- As a squad, the Leathernecks rank seventh in the nation in three-point field goals made with 263 on the season.
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DENVER FALLS BY ONE IN THRILLING DOUBLE OVERTIME GAME, ROMANOWSKI EARNS CAREER-HIGH 25
Idaho State Hits A Triple With .7 Seconds Remaining to Defeat Pioneers
POCATELLO, Idaho – The Pioneers came up just short in a thrilling double-overtime game, which saw a game-winning three-pointer from Idaho State with .7 seconds remaining to defeat Denver 65-64 in Reed Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore guard Samantha Romanowski had a career-high 25 points for the Pios, going 7-of-17 from the floor, including shooting an astounding 80 percent (4-of-5) from 3-point range.
Redshirt freshman guard Haley Simental scored a career-high 12 points on the afternoon, going 3-of-6 from three-point range.
Senior forward Jesse Spittel grabbed 11 rebounds and added eight points for Denver, while freshman guard Briana Johnson and senior guard Jacqyln Poss and also had eight points for the Crimson and Gold.
Denver shot 33.3 percent from the floor in the match, including 47.1 percent from beyond the arc. Idaho State was 26-of-76 from the floor on the day.
The Bengals out-rebounded the Pioneers 49-39. DU got to the line 28 times on the day, converting on 18 of them.
The Pioneers’ first points would not come until the 7:07 mark of the first quarter when Johnson would drive right and collect both the hoop and the harm. She would connect from the charity stripe and pull Denver within one at 4-3.
Freshman guard Lauren Loven gave Denver its first lead of the game at 6-4 with 4:28 to play in the first quarter on a three from the top of the key.
Romanowski would hit an elbow jumper with two defenders in her face and give her team a five-point lead going into the second quarter at 13-8.
Idaho State went on a 14-0 run to start the second quarter, taking a 22-13 lead with five minutes to play in the half.
Romanowski broke the scoring drought with a three-point basket at the 4:35 mark in the second quarter.
With just under a minute to play in the half, Simental would hit a deep three and bring the Pioneers within nine at 28-19.
The Bengals would take a 31-19 lead into the half.
Romanowski would hit a huge three for the Pioneers at the 5:12 mark of the third period and draw the foul. She would make the free throw from the charity stripe and cut the Bengals lead to six at 35-29, giving Denver momentum.
Simental would again hit a monster three for the Pioneers at the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter and bring Denver within seven at 43-36. She would hit all three and make it a four-point match.
The very next play hot-handed Simental beat the shot clock and hit again from deep, bringing the Pioneers within one with six minutes to play in the game.
Spittel would give the Pioneers the lead with 4:37 to play in the game when she was fouled underneath. She made the basket but missed from the charity stripe, giving Denver a one-point lead at 45-44.
The game was tied at 46 when Romanowski came away with a steal and drew the foul. She would make one from the free throw line and give Denver a 47-46 lead with three minutes to play.
With just under two minutes to play in regulation, Romanowski would hit a huge triple, tying the game back up at 50.
The Bengals grabbed their own shot, getting the ball back with 35 seconds to play. They would not convert and Spittel would come up with a huge rebound, giving the Pioneers the ball back with 7.8 seconds to play in regulation with the score tied at 50.
The Pioneers would have a chance, with Romanowski taking it coast-to-coast, but the ball would not drop and the score would be 50-all headed into overtime.
Idaho State struck first in the overtime period, taking a 54-50 lead with 2:31 to play.
Spittel would tie the game at 54 on a drop-step with under a minute to play in overtime.
The Bengals took the lead at 56-54 before Poss would hit a monster with 14.5 seconds to play, tying the game at 56.
Spittel would draw the foul at the 4:12 mark of the second overtime and make one-of-two to give Denver a 57-56 lead.
Poss hit a jumper from the elbow with just under three minutes to play, giving the Crimson and Gold to a three-point lead.
With just 35.8 seconds to play in the second overtime period, Romanowski would hit two more of her career-high 25 at the line, boosting Denver to a three-point lead.
Idaho would come out of a timeout and hit a three, cutting the Pioneer lead to one with 13 seconds to play.
The Bengals would foul Johnson, who would make one-of-two. Idaho State would march down and hit a three-point basket, taking a one-point lead at 65-64 with .7 seconds remaining in the second overtime, which would prove to be the game-winner.
Denver will return home for its final two games before the holiday break on Friday evening. The Pioneers will play host to Seattle University in a 7 p.m. MT game.
– JOIN THE DENVER PIONEER NATION –
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 17 of Denver’s NCAA Division I sports.
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