Pioneers Beat Bonnies for Third-Straight Victory

DENVER – The University of Denver women's basketball team won 76-62 against St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Gymnasium. With the win the Pioneers move to 5-1, the team's best start since the 2011-12 season.

DU got 20+-point performances from Lauren Loven (23) and Madison Nelson (20) while holding the Bonnies to just 3-of-21 from downtown to grab the 14-point victory. Nelson was big on the glass once again, hauling in 17 rebounds.

Samantha Romanowski finished with eight points, seven assists, three rebounds, three steals and one block.

The Pioneers and Bonnies opened the action trading scores as neither team led by more than three points in the initial two-and-a-half minutes of the game. With DU up three Loven hit her first three of the game to make it 10-5 but two layups and an old-fashioned three-point play tied the game with 4:16 to play in the first.

After a media timeout, Denver regained a four point lead thanks to a free throw from Jasmine Jeffcoat and a three-pointer from Grace White but the Bonnies answered back with a 5-0 run to take a one point lead. With the final possession the Pioneers turned to Romanowski who converted on a lay-in to give DU the 18-17 lead at the end of one.

The Crimson and Gold picked up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, holding the Bonnies to just 1-of-9 shooting to begin the frame. Despite the solid defense, the Pioneers could not capitalize on the poor shooting as DU led just 25-21 at the media break.

The suffocating defense continued out of the media timeout as the Pioneers held St. Bonaventure to just six points over the final six minutes of the quarter. DU kept the Bonnies to just ten points on 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from the floor en route to outscoring St. Bonaventure 15-10 in the second.

The teams began the second half trading buckets over the first three-and-a-half minutes but the Bonnies cut into the Denver lead with consecutive layups. Loven responded right back for DU hitting successive threes to put the Pioneers ahead 43-36 until Danielle Migliore's long-distance jumper cut the lead to four at the media timeout.

Jim Turgeon's squad exploded out of the break, turning a technical foul into a five point possession and an eight-point lead. DU continued to extend the lead thanks to Romanowski who hit on back-to-back threes, forcing a St. Bonaventure timeout at the 1:25 mark. After the timeout, the squads went scoreless to end the quarter as Denver led 53-43.

The Pioneers began the fourth quarter on a 7-2 run to grab their largest lead of the contest at 60-45 but six straight points from the Bonnies kept them in striking distance. A Romanowski three put Denver back up 11 but a free throw and jump shot got St. Bonaventure within eight points with just under three to play. Loven put the final two nails in the coffin with back-to-back three-pointers, stretching the lead to 70-56 with 2:19 remaining.

As a team Denver shot 27-of-69 from the floor while holding the Bonnies to just 21-of-64 shooting and 3-of-21 from long-range.

Next Up: Denver will return to the court next Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers host Loyola Marymount at 1 p.m. MT in Hamilton Gymnasium.