SAN JUAN, PR. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team began competition at the Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan with a 79-70 victory over the University of Denver on Saturday, Dec. 21 at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.
The win marks the fourth straight victory for the Broncos, moving them to 6-3 overall.
In the inaugural meeting between WMU and the Pioneers, Western Michigan converted 44 points in the paint and shot a season-high 50.0 (31-of-62) percent from the field, earning 19 points off Denver turnovers and outrebounding the Pioneers 36-34.
Redshirt Senior
Breanna Mobley again led the Broncos with her seventh double-double of the season (36
th career), tallying a season-high 23 points and a ten rebounds. Redshirt sophomore
Jordan Walker followed close behind with 22 points, paced by her four three-point field goals. Fellow starter
Leighah-Amori Wool notched ten points and six rebounds, with a game-high three blocks.
The Broncos fought hard in the first frame, ending a 5-0 Denver run with four straight points from Wool. Creeping up on the Pioneers with a layup from Walker and
Kamrin Reed's first points of the game, the Broncos forced a timeout trailing Denver by five. Coming off the bench to score on WMU's next possession,
Sydney Shafer pushed the Broncos forward and Wool sealed their first lead with a layup, quickly followed by a layup from Walker to put them ahead 17-14. The quarter ended on late points from Denver to head into the second quarter with WMU at 17, Denver 16.
The Pioneers outscored the Broncos by a narrow 15-14 in the second quarter. Two Broncos jumped off the bench to score,
Reilly Jacobson with a layup and
Maddie Watters with a corner three. WMU took off on a 9-0 run with points from Mobley and Watters to give the team their biggest lead of the game so far at 31-25. The Pioneers responded late to score six straight points after a pair of layups and a Western Michigan foul to end the first half with a tie game at 31-31. The Brown & Gold ended the half shooting 40.6 percent from the field with 14 points off turnovers to Denver's four.
Western Michigan redeemed itself in a competitive third quarter, outscoring Denver 28-19. The tied game continued as Denver scored twice in a row from beyond the arc, WMU matching the score with shots from Walker and a three from Reed to force a timeout. The score stayed close with fast-paced baskets from both sides until Mobley earned an and-one to score three, and graduate transfer
Chelayne Bailey earned her first points of the game with a layup. Walker came up her third three-point shot of the game to give the Broncos an 8-0 run, adding a foul shot to push the lead to 59-50 heading into the final frame.
The Broncos ended the fourth quarter with their best performance of the game. Shooting out of the gate with ten straight points, WMU held the Pioneers scoreless for five straight minutes with three different Broncos contributing points. Denver ended the run as Western pulled away on a game-high 21-point lead. DU fought back, shooting for seven straight in the final stretch. The Brown & Gold maintained their lead by as much as 11 for the rest of the game to earn the win 79-70.
