Orange, Calif. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team completed its non-conference schedule with a 66-57 win over the University of Redlands (Calif.) Thursday night at Chapman University's (Calif.) Hutton Sports Center. The Eagles improve to 11-2 on the season while the Bulldogs drop to 7-3. UWL finished 11-0 in non-conference games.
In the second-ever meeting between the two teams, Redlands (Calif.) took a 13-11 lead after the first quarter on Chyanne Pagkalinawan's jumper with :06 remaining.
Lauryn Milne scored a career-high 18 points.
Leah Tan made a three-pointer with 4:36 left in the second quarter to give the Bulldogs a 19-18 lead, but the Eagles ended the half on a 12-2 run to take a 30-21 lead.
Kyah Steiner's layup with 4:21 remaining gave UWL a 20-19 lead.
Alivia Arnebeck's jumper made it 22-19 and
Gabby Ritchie's three-pointer gave the Eagles a 25-19 advantage. Redlands (Calif.) cut it to 25-21, but Ritchie's three-point field goal with :44 remaining and
Paige Schumann's layup with :04 left provided UWL with its nine-point halftime lead.
UWL led by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, including 38-27 with 6:06 left. Redlands (Calif.) cut the deficit to 40-35, but
Lauryn Milne's layup and jumper gave UWL a 44-35 advantage. The Eagles led, 44-38, after three quarters.
The Eagles took a 56-42 lead with 6:13 remaining in the game on a pair of
Alana Gilles' free throws. The Bulldogs could get no closer than the final margin of nine points in the fourth quarter.
UWL shot 43.3% from the field Thursday, including 27.3% (three-of-11) from three-point range, and 68.8% (11-of-16) at the free throw line. Gilles and Milne each scored 18 points to lead the Eagles. Gilles finished eight-of-14 from the field and two-of-two at the line while Milne was seven-of-11 from the field and four-of-five at the free throw line. Gilles and Milne each had five rebounds. Gilles tied her career-high with 18 points while Milne set a career-high in points. Steiner and
Casandra Warmsley led UWL with eight rebounds each. Steiner scored eight points and Warmsley seven. Ritchie also added eight points.
Redlands (Calif.) shot 31.6% from the field, including 46.7% (seven-of-15) from three-point range, and 58.3% (14-of-24) at the line. Alyssa Downs and Hannah Jerrier led the Bulldogs with 13 points while Pagkalinawan finished with 11. Jerrier had a game-high 15 rebounds.
UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 4 with a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contest at UW-Platteville at 7 p.m.
