Box Score Menomonie , Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team earned a 76-61 victory at UW-Stout Wednesday night. The Eagles, receiving votes on this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, improve to 16-6 overall and 7-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blue Devils drop to 14-8 overall and 5-6 in the conference.
UWL took a 7-4 lead after Dani Craig's three-point field goal off a Kyah Steiner assist. UW-Stout took a 11-9 lead with 4:24 left in the opening quarter on a Shannan Watkins' three-pointer. Ava Kramer's three-point play with :01 left forced a 16-16 tied after the first quarter.
UWL had 40 rebounds in Wednesday's win.
The Eagles started the second quarter going on a 6-0 run with layups from Alana Gilles, Emma Gamoke and Kramer to make it 22-16. The Blue Devils trailed 26-24 when they went on a 10-2 run to take a 34-28 advantage with 3:17 remaining in the first half on Kati Christopherson's three-pointer. UW-Stout led, 36-33, at halftime.
UWL shot 46.9% from the field, including 28.6% (two-of-seven) from three-point range, and made its only free throw in the first half. Craig lead the Eagles with 14 points in the first half while Kramer totaled nine. Steiner had six rebounds.
UW-Stout shot 51.7% from the field in the first half, including 37.5% (three-of-eight) from three-point range. The Blue Devils made all three of their free throws in the first 20 minutes. Amber Fabeck had 10 points in the first half.
Both teams led by as many as four points in the third quarter before UWL took a 55-54 lead after 30 minutes. The Eagles opened the fourth quarter scoring the first seven points to lead 62-54 with 8:01 left. UW-Stout cut the deficit to 62-58 with 5:38 remaining on a Fabeck layup, but the Blue Devils could get no closer the rest of the game. UWL went on an 8-2 run to lead 70-60 with :48 left on a pair of Kramer free throws. The Eagles outscored the Blue Devils, 21-7, in the fourth quarter.
UWL shot 52.6% from the field for the game, including 42.9% (nine-of-21) from three-point range, and 77.8% (seven-of-nine) from the line. Craig scored a career-high 28 points while also adding four rebounds and three assists. Kramer finished with a career-high 17 points a team-high four assists along with four rebounds. Steiner had a game-high 10 rebounds and five blocks.
UW-Stout shot 34.8% from the field, including 35.0% (seven-of-20) from three-point range, and 88.9% (eight-of-nine) at the line. Fabeck led the Blue Devils with 18 points and seven rebounds while Watkins finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
UWL returns to action Saturday, February 15 hosting UW-Stevens Point at 3 p.m.
