La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team earned a 51-39 win over Ripon College (Wis.) Tuesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles improve to 5-1 on the season while the Red Hawks drop to 1-5.
The game was tied, 6-6, when Ripon (Wis.) went on a 8-0 run to lead 14-6 with 3:13 remaining after Cydney Pittenger's layup. UWL came back to cut the deficit to 14-12 on
Gabby Ritchie's layup, but Alison Leslie's three-pointer with :03 left gave the Red Hawks a 17-12 lead after the opening quarter.
Ripon (Wis.) took a 23-15 lead with 8:40 remaining in the first half on a Bella Opelt three-point basket. UWL came back with a 11-3 run to force a 26-26 tie with 3:03 left on
Julia Seidel's layup.
Emma Gamoke hit a pair of free throws for the Eagles to tie the game, 29-29, at halftime.
Carly Coulthart had five points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's win.
UWL took a 34-31 lead on
Paige Schumann's three-point field goal with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter. Skyylar Brescia's layup cut the lead to 34-33, but a Schumann layup and
Carly Coulthart jumper gave UWL a 38-33 advantage with 5:10 remaining. The Eagles took a 41-36 lead after three quarters on
Casandra Warmsley's three-point play with :06 left.
The Eagles held the Red Hawks to three points in the fourth quarter and 10 in the second half. UWL opened the fourth quarter scoring the first four points on a
Lexie Higgins layup and pair of Coulthart free throws. Ripon (Wis.) cut the lead to 45-39 with 4:36 left, but could get no closer the rest of the game as UWL scored the final six points. The Red Hawks missed all 10 of their field goal attempts in the fourth quarter while going three-of-four at the line.
UWL shot 45.2% from the field, including 10.0% (one-of-10) from three-point range, and 85.7% (12-of-14) at the free throw line. Schumann led the Eagles with 11 points while Gamoke finished with nine. Higgins and Warmsley each had six. Couthart had a team-high seven rebounds. Warmsley had six points and three rebounds.
Ripon (Wis.) shot 28.0% from the field, including 27.3% (six-of-22) from three-point range, and 55.6% (five-of-nine) at the line. Bonnie Jensen led the Red Hawks with nine points while Leslie finished with eight and Opelt seven. Breschia and Kiana Fall led Ripon (Wis.) with five rebounds.
UWL returns to action Friday, November 26 hosting Edgewood College (Wis.) at 3 p.m. in the Gundersen Hotel & Suites Thanksgiving Classic.
