Menomonie, Wis. - All five starters scored in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team defeated UW-Stout 90-80 on Wednesday night.
THE BASICS
Final Score: UW-La Crosse 90, UW-Stout 80
Location: Johnson Fieldhouse, Menomonie, Wis.
Records: UWL 14-8 (7-4 WIAC), UW-Stout 11-11 (2-9 WIAC)
Next Up: The Eagles return home for their final home game of the regular season as they host UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, February 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. UW-La Crosse defeated UW-Stevens Point 62-57 earlier this season in Stevens Point, Wis.
Molly Janke led the Eagles with 16 points while
Malia Nelson added 12 points. For the Pointers, Maija Rice led all scorers with 21 points while Emma Kilpatrick came off the bench to score nine points.
Malia Nelson
HOW DID IT HAPPEN
- Early in the first quarter, Nelson's turn around jump shot put the Eagles up 11-9 with 6:49 on the clock. Over the next 3:58 of the game, UW-Stout would go on a 14-2 run to take a 23-13 lead. UWL would slowly chip away at their deficit as they closed the first quarter with a 9-2 run to trail 25-22.
- The Blue Devils would get a layup on their first possession of the second quarter to make it 27-22, however, the Eagles scored 10 of the next 12 points to lead 32-29 with 6:28 left in the first half. Julia Rybacki would give UW-Stout a 33-32 lead with a jumper but that lead was short lived as Janke and Nelson hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Eagles a 38-33 lead with 2:16 left in the second quarter. Mary Berg would put the Blue Devils back on top with a three-pointer to make it 40-39 (:38) which was the score at halftime.
- UWL would open the third quarter with a Janke three-pointer followed by back-to-back layups from Nelson to put UWL up 46-40. UWL would eventually extend their lead to 58-50 including a three-pointer by Katie Waukau with 3:45 left in the quarter. The Blue Devils would then outscore the Eagles 11-4 over the final 3:33 to cut their deficit to 62-61 heading into the final quarter.
- The two teams would trade baskets before UW-Stout got a three-pointer from Berg and a layup by Rybacki to put the Blue Devils up 69-65 with 7:53 remaining in the game. The Eagles then went on a 9-3 run to lead 74-72 with 5:18 left in the contest. UWL would hit seven of eight free throws during the run as well as get a huge steal and layup by Knupp. Another Berg three-pointer for the Blue Devils would put UW-Stout back on top, 78-74, with 4:05 remaining. UWL then closed the game on a 16-2 run to pull away from the Blue Devils. Knupp would score eight points and Nelson added six points during the decisive run for the Eagles. UWL would shoot 20-of-22 (90.91%) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Madisyn Kilboten
FROM THE BOX SCORE
- As a team, the Eagles finished 27-of-57 (47.4%) from the floor including nine-of-25 (36.0%) from the three-point line. UWL was also an impressive 27-of-32 (84.4%) from the free throw line.
- Nelson led all five starters in double figures as she finished with 19 points while Knupp chipped in 18.
- Janke, Madisyn Kilboten and Jenna Welsch each finished with 13 points.
- Knupp added six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Eagles.
- Janke grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to help the Eagles finish with a slight 37-36 advantage on the boards.
- UW-Stout would shoot 33-of-72 (45.8%) from the floor including seven-of-22 (31.8%) from the three-point line. The Blue Devils were also seven-of-10 (70.0%) from the free throw line.
- Rybacki led the Blue Devils with 24 points while Berg added 17 points.