Senior forward Kaetlyn Murdoch and freshman guard Morgan Van Riper-Rose each scored 15 points Saturday, propelling the University of Denver women’s basketball team to a 60-50 road victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.
The win gave DU (15-8, 7-2 Sun Belt) sole possession of first place in the West Division and snapped a nine-game losing streak to UALR that dated to March 3, 2007.
“We’ve come a long way since the first time we played them this season,” said DU coach Erik Johnson, referring to a 53-51 loss to the Trojans on Dec. 31 at Magness Arena. “I couldn’t be more proud of the team. All the credit goes to the players.”
DU junior guard Emiko Smith finished with 10 assists, nine points and seven rebounds. Maiya Michel pulled down a game-high nine rebounds for the Pioneers.
San Diego St. 66, Colorado State 57
SAN DIEGO — The Rams (8-13, 4-2 Mountain West) trailed by 13 points in the first half and saw their three-game winning streak snapped by the Aztecs (16-4, 6-0).
San Diego State, which has a 12-game winning streak, scored 30 points off 22 CSU turnovers.
Kim Mestdagh, a 5-foot-10 senior guard from Belgium, hit 8-of-16 shots and led CSU with a game-high 21 points. Sam Martin and Meghan Heimstra each contributed 11 points.
Courtney Clements led the Aztecs with 19 points.
Wyoming 84, Boise State 64
LARAMIE — The Cowgirls (7-12, 3-3 Mountain West) snapped a two-game losing streak by beating the Broncos (11-10, 2-4).
Four starters contributed double-figure scoring for Wyoming, led by Chaundra Sewell (19 points and 10 rebounds, her eighth double- double of the season).
“The energy we had was at a high level,” Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. “We shared the basketball, which was an important part of what we were doing.”
The Cowgirls shot 53.4 percent from the field and made 13-of-15 free throws. They led 50-27 early in the second half.
Metro State 78, Colorado Mesa 40
GRAND JUNCTION — The Roadrunners held the Mavericks to 24.1 percent shooting while improving to 18-1 overall and 14-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Metro State’s Alyssa Benson, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, scored a game-high 16 points off the bench.
Tara Gehring led the Mavericks (8-11, 6-9) with 11 points.
Colorado Mines 91, Nebraska-Kearney 77
GOLDEN — Angie Charchalis led Colorado Mines (7-14, 6-9 RMAC) with a game-high 25 points. Shelby Zimmerman led Nebraska-Kearney (5-15, 5-10) with 20 points.
Men
Colorado Mesa 64, Metro State 47
GRAND JUNCTION — For the second night in a row, the third-ranked Roadrunners were upset on the road, falling to the Mavericks. The Roadrunners dropped to 17-3 overall and 12-3 in the RMAC, and CMU improved to 11-8 and 9-6.
It is the first time Metro has lost back-to-back games since Feb. 12-13, 2009.
Colo. Mines 77, Neb.-Kearney 61
GOLDEN — Colorado Mines (11-7, 9-6 RMAC) had five players in double figures, led by Dale Minschwaner and Brett Green with 17 points each.
The Lopers’ Ethan Brozek had a team-high 10 rebounds and finished with eight points.
