EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - While the game was close a majority of the first half, UW-La Crosse pulled away at the end of the second half to defeat the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team 64-50 at Zorn Arena tonight.
In a game where the Blugolds (4-3, 1-1 WIAC) were down by just one point at halftime, they managed to score just 17 points in the second half while the Eagles (7-1, 1-1 WIAC) scored 30.
In the first half, the Blugolds started with the lead after Ellen Plendl (Jr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) hit a jumper but just under five minutes into the game, La Crosse took control and held the lead the rest of the half, getting up by as much as eight points. The Blugolds closed the gap to one point twice.
Eau Claire came out in the second half with Nicole Christianson (Jr.-Chetek, Wis.) scoring seven points over the first four minutes but La Crosse answered after each basket and the game was tied up for the fifth time just over five minutes into the half.
La Crosse then used a 14-4 run to take back the lead and built a 10-point advantage. The closest Eau Claire got the rest of the way was eight points while La Crosse reached its largest lead of 16 points with less than two minutes to play.
Eau Claire was led by Christianson and Hannah Mesick (Sr.-Chatfield, Minn.), who each scored 16 points, while Sarah Bingea (So.-Delano, Minn.) had seven rebounds to lead the Blugolds. Christianson led the game with five assists.
For La Crosse, Danielle Frank had a double-double with a game-high 14 rebounds while she scored 11 points. Lindsey Litrenta had a game-high 20 points, scoring half of her points from the free throw line.
The Blugolds will be back at home Wednesday for another conference match against UW-River Falls. The event, which is also student appreciation night, will get underway at 7 p.m.
