This was the type of moment Alisha Godette hoped to experience when she decided to return to her home state.

Godette, a Colorado Springs native, never felt comfortable at her first school of choice, Arizona State, despite playing every game in two seasons with the Sun Devils.

Looking to make more of an offensive contribution than she produced at ASU, Godette returned to Colorado by transferring to the University of Denver. On Wednesday, DU's leading rebounder further justified her decision, leading the Pioneers to a 65-41 victory against Florida Atlantic in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament at Magness Arena.

"(Here) having that . . . expectation of scoring and bringing more to the game than just being out on the court and being a supporter, I've liked that," Godette said. "I had a lot of family and friends here, so that was good."

DU (19-10), the tournament's fourth seed, will play fifth-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in a quarterfinal game at 2 p.m. MST Saturday in Lafayette, La.

The Pioneers split two games against the Trojans during the regular season, and their win Wednesday left them one victory short of 20, a mark the program has not reached since its NCAA Tournament season of 2000-01. It's the number head coach Pam Tanner believes will put DU into strong consideration for the National Invitation Tournament.

"I think 20 wins is going to be more attractive than 19," Tanner said. "We still could get in maybe on 19, but like we told the student-athletes, the more we win in Lafayette, the better our chances are. And we're three wins away from an NCAA Tournament berth."

Eleven players scored in a balanced effort for DU, which enjoyed a solid all-around performance by Godette. The graduate of Doherty High School scored a game-best 19 points, hitting 9-of-11 free throws while adding five rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Pioneers used their superior depth and tenacious full- court pressure to build a 17-point lead at halftime.

DU was sluggish at the outset of the second half, allowing Florida Atlantic to crawl to 11 points with 12:32 remaining. But Godette scored six consecutive points in a 9-0 DU run that put the game away.

The Pioneers, who have won eight of their past nine games, forced 26 turnovers and held the Owls to a 26.2 percent shooting.

"This year is the best we've ever done," said DU point guard Tyesha Lowery, who tied the program's single-season record for steals, with 86. "We have so many good players. We can play all 14 people. That's going to help us in the end, because most teams only play nine or 10."

Denver 65, Florida Atlantic 41

FLORIDA ATLANTIC (6-25) - Brown 5-15 0-0 11, Randolph 1-8 0-0 3, Anderson 3-7 1-4 7 Brayboy 2-4 0-2 4, N'Diaye 0-3 0-0 0, Bowe 1-5 0-0 3, Sellers 1-4 0-0 2, Crenshaw 0-2 0-2 0, Cox 2-3 0-0 4, Beauzil 0-0 0-0 0, Lizama 0-1 0-0 0, Stubbs 1-9 5-6 7. Totals 16-61 6-14 41.

DENVER (19-10) - Cole 2-7 0-0 6, Godette 5-9 9-11 19, Lowery 2-8 0-0 5, Akotaobi 1-2 2-2 5, Benham 2-5 2-2 6, Givens 1-1 0-0 3, Meyer 3-10 0-0 7, Butler 0-0 2-2 2, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Mason 1-3 0-0 2, Culberson 2-5 0-0 5, Jasperson 0-0 0-0 0, Reini 0-2 0-0 0, Bents 2-3 1-3 5. Totals 21-55 16-20 65.

Halftime - Denver 36-19. Three-point attempts - Florida Atlantic 3-18 (Brown 1-2, Randolph 1-6, N'Diaye 0-1, Bowe 1-2, Sellers 0-1, Lizama 0-1, Stubbs 0-5), Denver 7-24 (Cole 2-5, Lowery 1-2, Akotaobi 1-2, Givens 1-1, Meyer 1-8, Mason 0-2, Culberson 1-3, Bents 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Florida Atlantic 51 (Stubbs 7), Denver 36 (Godette, Meyer 5). Assists - Florida Atlantic 5 (Brown, Randolph, Brayboy, N'Diaye, Crenshaw), Denver 16 (Lowery 6). Total fouls - Florida Atlantic 18, Denver 16. A - NA.