La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team, ranked 17th on the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, earned a 77-69 win over Luther College (Iowa) Tuesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles improve to 5-1 on the season while the Norse falls to 0-5.
Dani Craig had a game-high 26 points.
UWL is now 36-9 at home under fourth-year head coach Karen Middleton.
Luther (Iowa) never trailed in the first half, leading 24-11 after the first quarter. The Norse were six-of-eight (75.0%) from three-point range in the first quarter. Luther (Iowa) took its largest lead of the game at 30-15 with 7:39 left in the second quarter on a Sarah Holtz three-pointer. UWL used a 16-2 run to cut the lead to 32-31 with 2:00 remaining in the first half on a Dani Craig jumper. The Norse led, 39-35, at halftime. Holtz led Luther (Iowa) with 17 points in the first half while Madison Spence had five rebounds. The Norse shot 54.7% from the field, including 72.7% (eight-of-11) from three-point range, in the first half.
UWL shot 47.1% from the field in the first half, including 28.6% (two-of-seven) from three-point range. Craig scored 13 first half points while Kat Fitzgerald finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Seven different players scored for the Eagles in the first half.
Kyah Steiner's jumper with 8:45 left in the third quarter cut Luther's (Iowa) lead to 39-38, but the Norse went on a 12-3 run to lead 51-41 with 6:03 remaining after a Laura Hamilton layup. The Eagles responded, scoring 12 of the final 14 points of the quarter to force a 53-53 tie on a pair of Craig free throws with :09 left.
UWL never trailed in the fourth quarter. Leading 58-57, the Eagles scored seven consecutive points to take a 65-57 advantage with 6:16 left after Emma Gamoke made a pair of free throws. Luther (Iowa) cut the lead to three points on two occasions, including 72-69 with :50 remaining. Delaney Schoenenberger hit a jumper with :37 left for a five-point lead and the Norse were held scoreless the rest of the game.
UWL shot 49.2% from the field for the game, including 37.5% (6-of-16) from three-point range, and 56.5% (13-of-23) at the line. Craig led the Eagles with 26 points, finishing four-of-seven from three-point range. She added five rebounds and three assists. Fitzgerald recorded her first career double-double ending with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Ava Kramer had a team-high five assists while also adding eight points and two steals.
Luther (Iowa) shot 43.9% from the field, including 50.0% (11-of-22) from three-point range, and 57.1% (eight-of-14) at the line. Coranda Vickerman led the Norse with 21 points with Holtz adding 18. Hamilton had 10 points and team-high four steals. Spence had a team-high seven rebounds.
UWL returns to action Friday, November 29 hosting Finlandia University (Mich.) at 6 p.m. in the Holiday Inn Express Thanksgiving Classic.
