Box Score

MENOMONIE – The 22nd-ranked UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team forced overtime, but UW-Stout prevailed in the extra session to defeat the Pointers 92-79 tonight at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The loss drops the Pointers to 16-4 overall and 7-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Blue Devils improve to 14-6 overall and 8-3 in the league. The 92 points are the most given up this season by the Pointers. It was also their first overtime game of the year. Stevens Point's last overtime loss also came at Stout when the Pointers lost 76-68 on January 29, 2005.

With both teams tied for third place in the conference the game was tight from the start. The Pointers suffered a huge blow early when Chelsea Kranz (Columbus/Columbus) (Sr.-Columbus) went down with an injury three minutes in. The Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run to take a seven-point lead with 13 minutes left before halftime. Stevens Point cut that lead down to two after a Jesirae Heuer (Wisconsin Rapids/Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln) (Sr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) layup made the score 20-18 halfway through the first half.

Stout then scored the next six points to extend its lead back to eight. The Pointers came back to tie the game on Britta Petersen (Luck/Luck) (Fr.-Luck) jumper at the 4:23-mark. With the score still tied with two minutes left, the Blue Devils scored the final four points of the half to take a 37-33 lead.

The Pointers shot 41 % from the field in the first half and were 8-of-10 from the free throw line. The Blue Devils shot 47 % in the half, including 3-for-4 from beyond the three-point line. Both teams had 17 rebounds in the half.

Stout opened up an eight-point lead at the start of the second half. Stevens Point followed that with a 10-0 run to take the lead 45-43 after a Katie Webber (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) (Jr.-Reedsburg) three-point play. The Pointers took a three-point lead before the Blue Devils went on a 9-0 run to take a six-point lead with 12 minutes left in regulation.

The Blue Devils led by as many as nine with 7:44 remaining, but the Pointers kept it close and chipped away at the lead. Down by three with under a minute left to play, Laura Neuenfeldt (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) (Sr.-Two Rivers) hit a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to tie the game 72-72. Stout missed a shot as time expired and the game went into overtime.

In overtime, Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) (Jr.-Mineral Point) gave the Pointers an early two-point lead. However, Stout went on an 8-0 run to take an 83-76 lead with 1:43 left. The Blue Devils then scored the final nine points of the game to win by a score of 92-79.

Stevens Point finished at 45 % shooting from the field. The Pointers were 17-for-22 from the free throw line. The Blue Devils shot 54 % from the field and owned a 39-27 edge on the glass.

Laura Neuenfeldt (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) led the Pointers with a season-high 18 points. Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) and Katie Webber (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) each added 13 points, a season-high for Webber, and Britta Petersen (Luck/Luck) had 10 points off the bench. Petersen also had a team-high eight rebounds. Julia Hirssig had a double-double for Stout with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pointers will head up to Superior on Saturday to face the Yellowjackets. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. and is the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader.