EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – With the teams playing close the entire way, the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team fell 70-62 to Luther College (Iowa) on the final day of the Blugolds' Tip-Off Classic on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena this evening.
Tip-Off Classic Website | Box Score
Luther led a majority of the first half and worked its way to an eight-point lead 12 minutes into the contest. The Blugolds used a 7-0 run to get to within one (21-20) with 6:32 left in the half but Luther pushed its lead back to six with five minutes remaining.
But over the next four minutes, the Blugolds outscored Luther 15-3 to get up by six (35-29). The Norse hit a three-pointer near the end of the half to get back to within three by halftime (35-32).
In the second half, Luther took the lead a minute and a half in and trailed just one more time after that. With four minutes to play, the Blugolds took a 58-56 lead but Luther outscored the Blugolds 14-4 the rest of the way to win by eight.
The Blugolds outshot Luther 42.1 percent (24-for-57) to 34.5 percent (19-for-55) but the difference came at the free throw line where Luther had 26 points and the Blugolds scored just 10.
Carly Chell (Jr.-Apple Valley, Minn.) led the Blugolds with 15 points while two others reached double-digits. Teenie Lichtfuss (So.-Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes) had a game-high seven rebounds while scoring 12 points and tying for a game-high with six assists.
The Blugolds go to 0-2 while Luther is now 2-0 on the season. The loss to Luther was the Blugolds' first in history as they were 6-0 coming into tonight's contest.
The Blugolds will be home again Thursday to take on the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.). Action will get underway at 7 p.m. in Zorn Arena.
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