La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team, ranked 12th on this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, extended its winning streak to six with a 63-54 victory over Viterbo University (Wis.) Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall.  The Eagles improve to 8-1 on the season while the V-Hawks drop to 3-5.  It is UWL's 13th straight win over Viterbo (Wis.).

UWL got off to a 6-2 start.  A pair of free-throws from Viterbo's (Wis.) Kaitlyn Kennedy tied the game, 13-13, with :58 left in the first quarter. UWL's Delaney Schoenenberger three-point play with :21 remaining gave the Eagles a 16-13 lead after the first quarter. 

A Lexie Higgins layup gave UWL a 20-17 lead with 7:30 remaining the second quarter, but Viterbo (Wis.) used a 9-0 run to take a 26-20 lead with 3:23 left.  The V-Hawks led, 29-24, at halftime.

UWL shot 32.1% from the field in the first half, including 22.2% (two-of-nine) from three-point range, and 57.1% (four-of-seven) from the line. Higgins and Schoenenberger each had six points. Dani Craig had four points and four rebounds. Seven different players scored for the Eagles in the first half. 

Viterbo (Wis.) shot 45.5% from the field in the first half, including 45.5% (five-of-11) from three-point range. Natalia Leguizamon led the V-Hawks with eight points while Alyssa Nilssen had five rebounds.  

Viterbo (Wis.) took its largest lead of the game at 36-28 with 5:14 left, but UWL used a 10-2 run to force a 38-38 tie with :33 remaining on a Higgins' layup. Allie Wojtysiak's three-pointer with :01 left in the third quarter gave the V-Hawks a 41-38 lead. 

UWL took a 48-47 lead on a pair of Emma Gamoke free throws with 5:59 left, but a Nilssen layup gave Viterbo (Wis.) a 49-48 advantage with 5:48 remaining. UWL went on a 10-0 run to lead 58-49 with :46 left. Viterbo (Wis.) missed seven straight shots from the field in UWL's run before Sophie Leinfelder hit a three-pointer with :33 left to cut the lead to 58-52. A pair of Madison Lindauer free throws cut the deficit to 58-54 with :21 remaining, but UWL scored the final five points of the game at the free throw line. 

UWL shot 35.1% from the field, including 23.1% (six-of-26) from three-point range, and 77.3% (17-of-22) at the line. Higgins led five players in double figures with 15 points while finishing with a team-high nine rebounds. She was seven-of-nine from the field.  Craig and Ava Kramer each finished with 11 points while Craig and Schoenenberger each had 10. Schoenenberger added eight rebounds. 

Viterbo (Wis.) shot 37.5% from the field, including 41.2% (seven-of-17) from three-point range, and 100.0% (11-of-11) at the line. Nilssen and Madison Doerr led the V-Hawks with 11 points each while Nilssen had a team-high eight rebounds. Leguizamon added 10 points. 

UWL returns to action Sunday, December 29 against Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) at 3 p.m. in the Wartburg College (Iowa) Holiday Tournament.