La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team kept its undefeated season going Saturday afternoon with a 58-52 win over Carroll University (Wis.) in the Eagles' home opener. The win moves the Eagles to 5-0 overall while the Pioneers fall to 2-3.
Carly Coulthart got the scoring started for the Eagles hitting her first three-pointer as UWL jumped out to an early 12-4 lead with 4:36 left in the first quarter. A Natalie Gricius three-pointer for Carroll (Wis.) cut the UWL lead to 14-10 before the Eagles scored the final six points of the opening period to lead 20-10.
Kyah Steiner led the Eagles with six points and four rebounds in the opening quarter.
Kyah Steiner led UWL with nine rebounds while adding 13 points.
Casandra Warmsley opened the second quarter with two free throws to give UWL a 22-10 lead. Carroll (Wis.) scored seven unanswered to pull within 22-17 with 6:30 left in the first half. A
Gabby Ritchie jumper gave UWL a 24-17 lead but Chloe Halverson's three-point play and three-point field pulled Carroll (Wis.) to within 24-23.
Paige Schumann hit two free throws to give the Eagles a 28-25 lead. Carroll's (Wis.) Allison Thompson hit a hook shot for the final two points of the first half as UWL led 28-27.
The Pioneers' Kate Christian scored the first points of the third quarter giving Carroll (Wis.) its first lead of the game at 29-28. They extended their lead to 36-32 before
Alana Gilles hit back-to-back layups to tie the game with 2:48 left in third quarter. Warmsley gave the Eagles a 39-38 lead with two free throws but Thompson hit a jumper with 0:11 left as the Pioneers led 40-39 at the end of the third quarter.
Carroll (Wis.) took a 43-39 lead with 7:55 remaining, but UWL went on a 10-0 run to take a 49-43 advantage. UWL's run was sparked by back-to-back three pointers by
Lauryn Milne and Steiner. The Eagles would not trail again in the contest. The Pioneers cut their deficit to 52-50 with 1:10 left but the Eagles would go six-for-six from the free throw line to seal the win. Schumann, Warmsley and Gilles each hit two free throws in the final minute for the Eagles.
UWL finished the game shooting 17-for-52 (32.7%) from the field, including five-for-18 (27.8%) from the three-point line. The Eagles shot 67.9% (19-of-28) at the free throw line. Gilles led the Eagles with a game-high 16 points while finishing with eight rebounds. Steiner added 13 points and game-high nine rebounds. Steiner and Schumann each had three assists while Milne finished with four steals. The Eagles finished with a 46-35 advantage in rebounds.
Carroll (Wis.) shot 22-for-63 from the floor, including two-for-12 (16.7%) from the three-point line. The team shot 60.0% (six-of-10) at the line. Olivia Rangel led the Pioneers with 14 points while Thompson finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
UWL returns to action Monday, November 21 hosting Concordia University Chicago (Ill.) at 5 p.m.
