La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team earned a 67-59 victory over UW-Stout Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles improve to 2-3 overall and 2-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blue Devils fall to 2-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference.
The Eagles raced out to a 9-2 lead after Gabby Ritchie's layup on a fast break assisted from Alana Gilles. UW-Stout forced a 12-12 tie with 3:01 remaining in the first quarter on a Erin O'Brien layup. Kat Fitzgerald gave UWL a 15-12 lead with 1:23 left on a three-pointer after a UW-Stout free cut the lead to 15-13, Gilles hit a jumper with :03 left to give UWL a 17-13 first quarter lead.
Alana Gilles finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night.
Emma Gamoke hit back-to-back three-pointers less than a minute apart to give UWL a 25-15 lead with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter. UW-Stout used a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 29-28 with :33 left after a pair of O'Brien free throws. Julia Seidel's jumper with :20 remaining gave the Eagles a 31-28 halftime lead.
UWL shot 42.9% (13-of-31) from the field in the opening half while UW-Stout shot 40.7% (11-of-27).
UWL led, 33-32, with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter when it used a 12-2 run to lead 45-34 with 3:35 left. UW-Stout cut the lead to 47-40 on a Anna Mutch jumper, but Ava Kramer's jumper with :30 left gave UWL a 49-40 lead after three quarters.
The Eagles led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Blue Devils could get no closer than seven with :43 remaining. UWL scored its final 11 points of the game at the free throw line.
UWL shot 40.0% from the field, including 30.0% (six-of-20) from three-point range, and 70.8% (17-of-24) at the line. Gilles led the Eagles with a career-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gamoke finished with 17 points while going five-of-eight from three-point range. Kramer added eight points team-high five assists.
UW-Stout shot 39.7% from the field, including 21.4% (three-of-14) from three-point range, and 55.6% (10-of-18) at the line. Haylee Yaeger led the Blue Devils with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Mutch finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
The teams will face each other Friday, February 19 at UW-Stout at 7 p.m.
