Box Score

 STEVENS POINT – Ali Nicastro (Mondovi/Mondovi) (Sr.-Mondovi) scored a career-high 16 points off the bench as the 20th-ranked UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team defeated UW-La Crosse 74-61 tonight at Berg Gym.

 The win improves the Pointers record to 6-1 overall and 1-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Eagles fall to an overall record of 3-5 and 0-1 in the conference. The Pointers have defeated the Eagles 15 of the last 16 times they have met.

 The first half was fairly close throughout. The Eagles took the biggest lead of the half that either team had with 12:07 remaining after a jumper made the score 19-14. However, then the Pointers outscored the Eagles 10-1 over the next six minutes to take a 24-20 lead with 5:53 left in the half. La Crosse came back to tie the game at 24, but Stevens Point scored the last four points of the first half to take a 28-24 lead into the half.

 Both teams struggled from the field in the half as the Pointers shot 38 %, while the Eagles shot 33 %. La Crosse had a 20-18 edge on the glass.

 The Pointers scored the first four points of the second half to take an early eight-point lead in the half. The Pointers gradually built their lead to 53-32 after a 7-0 run that was capped off by a pair of Janell Van Gomple (DeForest/DeForest) (Jr.-DeForest) free throws. Van Gomple finished 6-for-6 from the line for the game. The margin remained between 10 and 20 points the rest of the way as the Pointers picked up their first conference win of the season by a final score of 74-61.

 Stevens Point shot 55 % in the second half, including 3-for-5 on three-point attempts. La Crosse was held to 39 % in the second half and was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc in the game. The Pointers ended with a 40-31 advantage in rebounding and was 23-for-27 from the free throw line.

 Nicastro finished with 16 points in 22 minutes of action. She was 5-for-7 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Laura Neuenfeldt (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) (Sr.-Two Rivers) added 13 points and had a team-high four assists, while Haley Houghton (Wausau/Wausau East) (Sr.-Wausau/East) had 12 points and led the Pointers with six rebounds. Mackenzie Hunter had a game-high 17 points for the Eagles.

 The Pointers will be at home again Saturday afternoon when they host Lawrence University in a non-conference game. The action is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. in Berg Gym. Team posters will be given away at the door.