University of Wisconsin La Crosse Athletics

Decorah, Iowa. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season with a non-conference win over Luther College on Wednesday night. 

THE BASICS 
Final Score: UW-La Crosse 63, Luther College (Iowa) 43
Location: Birkestrand Family Court, Decorah, Iowa
Records: UWL 1-0, Luther College (Iowa) 0-2
National Rankings: UWL is ranked 14th on the D3hoops.com preseason Top-25 poll and 19th on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) preseason Top-25 poll . 
Next Up: The Eagles will be back in action on Saturday, November 14th at 6 p.m. when they host Saint Mary's University (Minn.) for their 2026-27 home opener.            

HOW DID IT HAPPEN

• UWL would get off to a fast start as they would shoot eight-of-16 (50%) from the floor and lead 18-7 after the first quarter. Abigail Panka's three-pointer would give Luther an early 3-2 lead; however, UWL would score 16 of the next 4 points to create teh 11 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Molly Janke would score five points while Taylor Brigham and Grace Knupp each added four points in the first quarter.
• The hot start would continue for the Eagles as they opened the second quarter on a 11-2 run to extend their lead to 29-9 with 5:51 left in the half. Jenna Welsch would score five points and Knupp added another four points during the run. Two Haylie Strum free throws would cut the Eagles lead to 33-15 but Brigham's layup with :06 left would give the UWL a 35-15 lead at the half. The Eagles would shoot eight-of-15 (53.3%) from the floor in the second quarter and finish the half 16-of-31 (51.6%). 
• A 7-3 run to start the third quarter would cut the Norse deficit to 38-22 but that would be as close as Luther would get in the quarter as UWL led by as many as 23 at 48-25. UWL would cool off a bit from the floor as they shot six-of-14 (42.9%). 
• Both teams would score 15 points in the fourth quarter as UWL shot six-of-14 (42.9%) while Luther was seven-of-16 (43.8%) from the floor. The Eagles took its largest lead of the game at 58-34 with 4:45 left in the contest. 

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• As a team, the Eagles finished 28-of-59 (47.5%) from the floor including three-of-13 (23.1%) from the three-point line. UWL was also four-of-six (66.7%) from the free throw line.
• UWL finished with four players in double figures led by Welsch with 16 points while Knupp added 14, Janke 13 and Brigham 10. 
• Knupp finished with a game five steals to go along with three rebounds and three assists. 
• Lindsey Knuth led the Eagles with seven rebounds while Isabelle Schultz, Welsch, Janke and Brigham each had four. 
• The Norse shot 16-of-54 (29.6%) from the floor including 1-of-19 (5.3%) from the three-point line. Luther was also 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the free throw line. 
• Strum led the Norse with 19 points while Abby Anderson added 12 points. 
• Lexi Thomas and Abigail Panka each had seven rebounds to help Luther finish with a 38-33 edge in rebounding.