Box Score Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team fell to nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 68-56 Saturday night at Zorn Arena. The loss drops the Eagles to 8-2 overall and 0-2 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) action while the Blugolds, ranked 12th on this weeks D3hoops.com top-25 poll, improve to 8-1 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
Kyah Steiner finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
The Blugolds opened the game with an 11-4 run over the first four minutes of the contest. The Eagles then finished the first quarter on a 11-4 run to tie the game at 15-15.
Alana Gilles hit a layup with 0:03 left in the opening period.The run would continue to start the second quarter as
Grace Cote hit a three-pointer to give the Eagles an 18-15 lead. UWL eventually extended its lead to 25-19 on a jumper and a three-pointer by
Carly Coulthart with 5:41 left in the second quarter. UW-Eau Claire outscored UWL 10-6 to cut their halftime deficit to 31-29.
Paige Schumann led the Eagles with nine points while
Kyah Steiner had seven points in the first half.
UWL would take a 35-31 lead with 8:16 left in the third quarter but the Eagles would score just three more points the rest of the quarter. The Blugolds finished the third quarter on a 20-3 run to lead 51-38 at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles would not get any closer than 58-47 (6:21) the rest of the game.
The Eagles finished shooting 22-for-64 (34.4%) from the floor, including six-of-21 (28.6%) from the three-point line. UWL was also six-of-10 (60%) from the free throw line. Individually, the Eagles finished with three players in double figures including Schumann with 14 points, Steiner with 11 and
Alivia Arnebeck with 10. Steiner led the Eagles with six rebounds and three blocks as well.
The Blugolds shot 26-of-61 (42.6%) from the floor and four-of-14 (28.6%) from the three-point line while also going 12-of-15 (80%) from the free throw line. Jessie Ruden led the Blugolds with 18 points while Tyra Boettcher added 17 points and 12 rebounds. UW-Eau Claire finished with a 45-37 advantage on the boards.
UWL returns to action on Tuesday, December 13 hosting Carleton College (Minn.) at 7 p.m.
