STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The No. 24 UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team closed the game on an 8-1 run to open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a 59-52 win over UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday evening at Berg Gym.
 
Box Score
 
UW-Stevens Point (10-2, 1-0 WIAC) and UW-Eau Claire (5-7, 0-1 WIAC) were deadlocked at 51-51 with 4:38 to go before the late run gave the Pointers their eighth consecutive win in the series and seventh straight win this season. The win was also UWSP's 16th home win in a row against the Blugolds.
 
Lauren Anklam (Ringle, WI/D.C. Everest) broke the 51-51 tie with a three-pointer with 3:55 remaining to give the Pointers a lead they would not relinquish. An Autumn Hennes (Kaukauna, WI/Kaukauna) layup and three free throws were enough the rest of the way for UW-Stevens Point whose defense forced three UWEC turnovers in the final four minutes.
 
Hennes scored a team-high 14 points on 6-for-15 shooting for UW-Stevens Point. She was joined in double figures by Allie Miceli (Marseilles, IL/Ottawa Township), who had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Anklam's 12 points. The Pointers shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58) in the game but got up 13 more shots than the Blugolds behind a 13-rebound advantage.
 
Erin Crownover (Menomonee Falls, WI/Menomonee Falls) came off the bench to provide nine points as the UW-Stevens Point reserves outscored those of UW-Eau Claire 17-11. The Pointers also held a 17-2 advantage in second-chance points thanks to 15 rebounds and a 41-28 edge on the glass.
 
After the teams were tied at 31-31 at the half, UW-Stevens Point held UW-Eau Claire to just four points in the third quarter to take a 41-35 lead to the final quarter. The Pointers held the Blugolds scoreless for a stretch of nearly six minutes in the period.
 
UW-Eau Claire started off hot from the field, making its first five field goals in the first three minutes of the game to go up 10-2. The Blugolds led for the entirety of the first quarter, although the Pointers trimmed their deficit to three after 10 minutes.
 
UW-Stevens Point tied the score on an and-one by Miceli early in the second quarter only for UW-Eau Claire to reclaim a four-point advantage. The Pointers took their first lead of the game with 4:46 to go until the half on an Anklam three-pointer but the teams went into the locker room tied at 31-31, the fifth tie of the first half.

Madison Johnson scored a game-high 16 points on 6-for-12 from the field to lead three double-figure scorers for UW-Eau Claire. Teenie Lichtfuss scored 10 of her 11 in the second half and Erin O'Toole had 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

The Blugolds shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) in the first half and finished at 46.7 percent (21-for-45) for the game. UW-Eau Claire could not overcome 15 turnovers and 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) shooting at the free-throw line.
 
The Pointers host No. 6 UW-Whitewater on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 3 p.m. on Alumni Day at Berg Gym.