Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball outlasted UW-Eau Claire 76-69 in overtime on Saturday night. With the win, UWL secures the #2 seed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (presented by Culvers). 

THE BASICS 
Final Score: UW-La Crosse 76, UW-Eau Claire 69 Overtime
Location: Sonnentag Event Center, Eau Claire, Wis. 
Records: UWL 16-9 (9-5 WIAC), UW-Eau Claire 13-12 (3-11 WIAC)
Next Up: With the win, UWL earns the #2 seed in the WIAC Conference Tournament (presented by Culvers) and receives a first round by on Monday night. The Eagles will face the remaining highest seed in a semifinal match-up on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Mitchell Hall. #3 seed UW-Whitewater will host #6 UW-Stevens Point in one quarterfinal while #4 UW-River Falls hosts #5 UW-Platteville in the other quarterfinal on Monday night at 7 p.m. UW-Oshkosh is the #1 seed after winning the regular season crown and will host the lowest remaining seed in the other semifinal on Wednesday night. 

HOW DID IT HAPPEN

• An early three-pointer by Jenna Welsch would give UWL a 7-2 lead 1:30 into the game. After UW-Eau Claire cut their deficit to 9-6, UWL scored six unanswered to extend their lead tp 15-6 with 4:46 left in the opening period. Malia Nelson would hit a three-pointer as time expired to give UWL a 20-12 lead heading into the second quarter. Nelson would score nine points to lead the Eagles in the first quarter. 
• Welsch would give the Eagles a 24-14 lead early in the second quarter but the Blugolds would respond with a 14-4 run to tie the game at 28-28 with 1:37 left in the half. Olivia Witkowski and Kailey Tulachka each scored four points to spark the run for the Blugolds. A Molly Janke jumper would give the Eagles a 30-28 lead at half time. 
• The Blugolds would score seven of the first nine points to take a 35-32 lead early in the second half. A Grace Knupp layup would give UWL the lead back at 38-37 with 5:40 left in the third quarter. The two teams would trade baskets until the Eagles hit back-to-back baskets to take a 47-44 lead :51 left in the quarter. Britta DeMar would then hit a three-pointer for the Blugolds as time expired to tie the game at 47-47. 
• The game would remain a one or two point game until UW-Eau Claire took a 59-56 lead on back-to-back free throws by Tulachka with 5:22 left in regulation. After UWL cut the Blugold lead to 61-60 on two free throws by Nelson, Reanna Hutchinson put UW-Eau Claire up 63-60 with a layup with 3:58 on the clock. The score would remain that way until Molly Janke was fouled with :31 remaining. Janke would hit the first free throw but miss the second one; however, Nelson would get the offensive rebound and put it back to tie the game at 63 with :28 left. UW-Eau Claire would get a shot off at the buzzer but it would not fall as the game headed to overtime. 
• Nelson would hit a three-pointer on the Eagles first possession of the overtime but Hutchinson would hit a three-pointer for the Blugolds to even the score at 66. Two Nelson free throws followed by a Janke three-pointer and a Katie Waukau tipin to put the Eagles up 73-66 with 1:555 left in overtime. Kyla Overskei would cut the Blugolds deficit to 73-69 (:32) but that would be as close as they would get as the the Eagles made three-of-six free throws to seal the win. 

FROM THE BOX SCORE

• As a team, the Eagles finished 25-of-59 (42.4%) from the floor including four-of-17 (23.5%) from the three-point line. UWL was also 22-of-30 (73.3%) from the free throw line.
• Nelson led all scorers as she finished with a game high 22 points including finishing eight-of-12 from the free throw line. Nelson also finished with a game high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. 
• Janke added 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Eagles. 
• Also finishing in double figures for UWL was Welsch with 13 points. 
• UWL finished with a 43-36 advantage on the glass. 
• UW-Eau Claire would shoot 28-of-69 (40.6%) from the floor including five-of-20 (25.0%) from the three-point line. The Blugolds were also eight-of-10 (80.0%) from the free throw line. 
• Witkowski led the five UW-Eau Claire scorers in double figures with 18 points while Hutchinson added 12 and Overskei finished with 11. 

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