SUPERIOR, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The 14th-ranked UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team was down much of the night to UW-Superior but was able to do just enough to get past the Yellowjackets with a 61-56 win at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium tonight.
The Blugolds and Yellowjackets went back and forth the majority of the first half but over the final four minutes, Superior outscored the Blugolds 12-3 to build a seven-point halftime lead (34-27).
The beginning of the second half seemed to be going Superior's way as they maintained an advantage for much of the half.
The Blugolds tied the score up at various times during the first 15 minutes of the half, but it was not until there were just over five minutes to play when the Blugolds took the lead for good. Callie Halama (Sr.-Independence, Wis.) scored the layup that gave the Blugolds a 52-50 lead and they held on the rest of the night.
Over the final five minutes of the game, the Blugolds were able to build a seven-point lead at one point and finished with a five-point victory.
Two Blugolds finished with double-doubles. Halama had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Ellen Plendl (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Sarah Bingea (Jr.-Delano, Minn.) also came away with 18 points.
Eau Claire is now 16-3 on the season and has a league-best 9-1 record in conference play, one game ahead of UW-Stevens Point. Superior drops to 9-9 overall and 3-7 in the WIAC.
The Blugolds will head to UW-Whitewater Saturday to take on the Warhawks. Action is set to get underway at 3 p.m.
-KM-
