WHITEWATER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – In a game that featured seven lead changes and 10 ties, the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball was unable to get by 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater as the Warhawks won 80-72 in Kachel Gymnasium tonight.
The score remained very close in the opening half with neither team leading by more than four points. Eau Claire took the initial lead and the teams went back and forth the rest of the half. The score was tied seven times while Whitewater's largest lead of the half was four points on five occasions, and Eau Claire led by as many as three points once.
Down 38-36 with seconds left in the first half, Cady Roedl (Fr.-Beaver Dam, Wis.) hit a buzzer-beater to give the Blugolds a 39-38 advantage heading into the locker room.
In the second half, after Roedl scored on a layup, Whitewater started a 24-10 scoring run that lasted almost nine minutes. With less than 11 minutes to play, Whitewater found itself up by 11 points (62-51).
But Eau Claire didn't give up and went on an 8-0 scoring run to get back to within three with a little more than eight minutes remaining. Over the following three minutes, the Warhawks found their way to another 12-point lead after using a 12-3 run.
Again, Eau Claire had another 8-0 run to get back to within four points (74-70) but Whitewater outscored the Blugolds 6-2 the rest of the way to win by eight.
Leah Rempert (Sr.-Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) tied for a team-high 19 points, a career-high, with Courtney Lewis (So.-Prairie Du Chien, Wis.). Shannon Riley (Fr.-Muskego, Wis.) led the Blugolds with eight rebounds.
Eau Claire led the Warhawks in rebounding as the Blugolds pulled down 34 rebounds to 29 for Whitewater. The Blugolds also shot better, 53.8 percent (28-for-52) to 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field. But the Blugolds turned the ball over a season-high 28 times, which Whitewater converted into 28 points. The Blugolds scored 16 points off 20 Whitewater turnovers.
The Blugolds are now 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference while Whitewater improves to 6-2 on the season and 3-0 in WIAC play.
Eau Claire will be at UW-Superior on Wednesday for a game that will start at 7 p.m.
-KM-
