Box Score

STEVENS POINT - UW-Stevens Point shot a blistering 53 percent from the floor and forced 15 UW-Whitewater turnovers as the Pointers defeated the No. 1 ranked team in the nation 84-76 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action Saturday evening.

The Pointers jumped all over the Warhawks in the first half, pushing ahead to an early nine point lead (14-5) with 13:58 to go. The Pointers then pulled away to lead by as many as 12 in the opening stanza before UW-Whitewater used a 10-2 run in the final 3:27 to cut the deficit to four going into the locker room.

In the second half, the Warhawks took their first lead since the start of the first half, jumping ahead 40-39 with 18:57 to go. But the Pointers had an answer and her name was Britta Petersen (Luck/Luck) (Luck), as she connected on seven of her eight shots in the second half for 15 points and Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) (Mineral Point) added eight points and six rebounds in the half as the Pointers pulled ahead 60-47 before both defenses battled to keep the score close. After trailing by 13, the Warhawks got no closer than seven, 68-61, with 5:19 left as the Pointers held on for the 84-76 win.

Leading the way for the Pointers (6-1, 1-0 WIAC) was Janell Van Gomple (DeForest/DeForest) (DeForest), who tallied 18 points, including two 3-pointers, to pace UWSP. Petersen finished 8-for-11 with 17 points while Sporle added 16 and 12 rebounds while Katie Webber (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) (Reedsburg) finished with 11 to round out the four scorers in double figures.

For UW-Whitewater (4-1, 0-1 WIAC), Tiffany Morton led all scorers with 23 points and pulled in 14 rebounds for the Warhawks in the loss. Rachel Woolever finished as the only other Warhawk in double figures with 10.

UW-Stevens Point returns to action when they travel to face the Eagles of UW-La Crosse on Dec. 10. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.