UW-Stevens Point jumped out to another early lead and used a torrid second half shooting performance to put away Viterbo 69-31 for its sixth Pointer Tipoff Classic title in seven years on Saturday at Berg Gym.
The Pointers scored the game's first 10 points and then closed the first half with a 14-2 run to take a 34-12 halftime advantage. UW-Stevens Point maintained its momentum after the intermission, scoring the first eight points of the second half. The V-Hawks missed their first 12 shots of the second half and were held scoreless over the first 7:39 of the half.
UW-Stevens Point, meanwhile, was red hot from the floor in the second half, hitting 15 of 19 shots for 78.9 percent. The Pointers shot 58.3 percent from the field for the game and had 13 different players score points. It was the largest margin of victory in a title game in the 10-year history of the tournament and Saturday's game marked a rematch of the 2000 championship game also won by the Pointers.
UW-Stevens Point's
Haley Houghton (Wausau/Wausau East) scored four of her six points during the opening 10-0 run and was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
Jesirae Heuer (Wisconsin Rapids/Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln) was in double figures for the second straight game with 11 points and was named to the all-tournament team. Heuer and
Ashley Windt (Hurley/Hurley) shared team-high scoring honors.
Katie Webber (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) was also named to the all-tournament team.
Viterbo was led in scoring by Joni Stanek with eight points. The V-Hawks' Katina Mandylaris was the team's lone all-tournament selection.