Lichtfuss Leads Women's Basketball Past Pioneers in Overtime

Lichtfuss Leads Women's Basketball Past Pioneers in Overtime

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Teenie Lichtfuss (Fr.-Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes) hit buzzer-beater to push the game into overtime, and the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team went on to defeat UW-Platteville 62-57 on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena tonight.

The Blugolds led almost the entire night but with seven minutes remaining in the second half, the Pioneers tied the game for the fourth time of the night (42-42) and led the rest of the way until the very end.

With the score 49-47 in favor of Platteville, Courtney Lewis (So.-Prairie Du Chien, Wis.) inbounded the ball for Eau Claire from center court with 1.3 seconds remaining. Lewis found Lichtfuss open a few feet from the basket, and Lichtfuss was able to drain the shot at the buzzer to push the game into overtime, the team's first overtime game since 2007.

In the extra session, Lichtfuss scored seven of the Blugolds' 13 points to help Eau Claire to the five-point win. Lichtfuss scored 11 points for the game.

Sarah Bingea (Sr.-Delano, Minn.) led the Blugolds with 15 points while Lewis added 13. Bingea also led Eau Claire with nine rebounds as the Blugolds out rebounded the Pioneers 47-44.

The Blugolds' bench was a big part of Eau Claire's win tonight as six non-starters combined to score 30 of the team's 62 points.

Eau Claire improves to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the WIAC while Platteville drops to 2-6 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The Blugolds are currently on a three-game winning streak while the Pioneers are on a five-game losing streak.

The Blugolds will now be on the road for seven straight games, next playing in Zorn on January 5. Eau Claire's next game will be played Saturday at UW-Whitewater beginning about 5 p.m.

-KM-