The Denver Pioneers led by as many as 14-points in the second half, but held off a late rally to defeat the UTSA Roadrunners 75-73 Saturday night at Convocation Center in San Antonio, Texas. Sophomore guard Morgan Van Riper-Rose led the Pioneers in scoring for the eighth time this season with 22 points. Junior forward Alison Janecek led Denver in rebounding with a career-high 11 boards, and she also notched her first career double-double by adding 12 points.
Denver earned the victory without the services of junior guard Quincey Noonan, who sat out this game after playing 24 minutes in Thursday's 73-70 overtime win against the Texas State Bobcats. Noonan has been bothered by an Achilles tendon injury much of the season. Denver head coach Kerry Cremeans ended up playing only eight players in this game, and all five starters logged more than 30 minutes.
Denver's 14-point lead, its biggest of the game, came with 12:00 remaining in the second half after a three-point shot by senior guard Emiko Smith made the score 51-37. The Roadrunners closed to within three points after freshman forward Mannasha Bell hit a jumper to make the score 61-58 with 4:02 remaining, but the Pioneers went 10-of-14 from the free-throw line over the final four minutes of the game to keep the Roadrunners at bay.
Sophomore guard Kamra King led UTSA in scoring with 18 points, while Bell and senior guard Simone Young tied for the team lead in rebounds with six apiece. The Pioneers improved their record to 8-7 overall, 3-1 in the WAC, while the Roadrunners dropped to 7-8, 1-3 in the WAC.
The Pioneers now return to Denver for a two-game homestand, meeting the Idaho Vandals Tuesday at 7 p.m. MT and the Seattle Redhawks Sunday at 1 p.m. MT. Both games are at Magness Arena.
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