La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team earned a 60-39 victory over UW-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles, ranked 21st on D3hoops.com, improve to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blugolds drop to 10-7 overall and 5-2 in the conference.
It is UWL's seventh win in the last eight meetings with UW-Eau Claire.
Delaney Schoenenberger had 11 points Saturday.
The Eagles never trailed in Saturday's win, racing out to a 7-2 lead on
Delaney Schoenenberger's three-pointer. The Blugolds cut the lead to 9-8 with 3:54 left in the first quarter, but a 9-3 run to end the quarter gave UWL a 18-11 lead.
UW-Eau Claire cut it to one point on two different occasions in the second quarter, including 20-19 with 3:02 remaining. UWL scored the game's next six points to lead, 26-19.
Zeporah Jackoyo had a pair of layups in the run and
Lexie Higgins converted two free throws. UWL led, 28-21, at halftime.
Katie Essen's layup for UW-Eau Claire cut the deficit to 33-23 with 8:21 left in the third quarter, but it would be as close as the Blugolds would get the rest of the game. Schoenenberger made back-to-back jumpers to give the Eagles a 14-point advantage. The Blugolds cut it 39-28, but the Eagles scored the final eight points of the third quarter to take a 47-28 lead.
The Blugolds could get no closer than 15 points in the fourth quarter.
UWL shot 32.3% from the field, including 31.3% (five-of-16) from three-point range, and 100.0% (15-of-15) at the line.
Ava Kramer led the Eagles with 16 points, going seven-of-seven at the free throw line. Schoenenberger finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Kyah Steiner and Higgins each had a game-high 11 rebounds.
Dani Craig and
Kat Fitzgerald each had seven points while Jackoyo finished with six.
Kat Fitzgerald finished with seven points.
The 100.0% (15-of-15) free throw shooting for UWL is single-game school record for a minimum of 15 attempts. The Eagles shot 93.8% (15-of-16) against Northwestern College (Minn.) on December 10, 1996.
UW-Eau Claire shot 22.2% from the field, including 9.5% (two-of-21) from three-point range, and 65.0% (13-of-20) at the line. Katie Essen led the Blugolds with 11 points. Anna Graaskamp had a team-high 10 rebounds.
UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 29 at sixth-ranked UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m.
