Box Score

EAU CLAIRE – The 25th-ranked UW-Eau Claire Blugolds used a late 16-0 run to knock off the 10th-ranked UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team by a final score of 62-54 tonight at Zorn Arena.

The loss snaps a 10-game winning streak by the Pointers and gives them an overall record of 15-2 and a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record of 6-2. The Blugolds improve to 14-3 overall and remain unbeaten in conference play at 8-0. The home team has won the last 11 games in the series.

Stevens Point scored the first point of the game, but the Blugolds jumped out to an 11-3 advantage with 9:24 left in the first half. The Pointers had just one field goal in the first 11 minutes. Stevens Point then went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 11-10 with 6:29 left in the first half. The score stayed close the rest of the first half, but the Pointers could not manage to take the lead. Britta Petersen (Luck/Luck) (Fr.-Luck) hit a jumper with 12 seconds left to send the teams into the locker room tied 26-26.

In a battle of the top two defenses in the conference, the Pointers shot just 30 % in the first half, while the Blugolds shot 38 %. Eau Claire had a 16-8 scoring advantage in the paint.

Stevens Point finally got over the hump and took the lead following a Katie Webber (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) (Jr.-Reedsburg) three-pointer two minutes into the second half. The lead then went back-and-forth, but the Pointers used a 7-0 run to take an eight-point lead with over seven minutes remaining in the game.

The Stevens Point lead was 49-41 with 6:50 left to play. Eau Claire then rattled off 16 straight points to take a 57-49 lead with 49 seconds left in the game. Half of those points came at the free throw line, including the final six. The Pointers cut the lead down to five, but the Blugolds sealed the game from the foul line to win by a score of 62-54.

Stevens Point shot 43 % in the second half, while the Blugolds shot 44 %. The Blugolds finished 18-for-19 from the free throw line, including 15-for-16 in the second half. The Pointers were just 7-for-11 from the charity stripe for the game.

Britta Petersen (Luck/Luck) tied a career-high with 13 points off the bench for the Pointers. Haley Houghton (Wausau/Wausau East) (Sr.-Wausau/East) was the second-leading scorer with eight points. Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) (Jr.-Mineral Point) and Chelsea Kranz (Columbus/Columbus) (Sr.-Columbus) each had six rebounds to lead the team. Michelle Burns had a game-high 18 points for the Blugolds.

The Pointers will head to Oshkosh to face the Titans on Saturday at the Kolf Center. The tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.