EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team ended a five-game losing streak by defeating the University of Minnesota-Morris 72-53 on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena tonight.
The Blugolds never trailed the entire night but the score was tied twice in the opening half. After a 17-17 tie with less than eight minutes to play in the first, the Blugolds outscored the Cougars 15-8 the rest of the half to get up by seven (32-25) at halftime.
Eau Claire pulled away in the second half, outscoring Morris 40-28. Over a nine-minute stretch in the second, the Blugolds used a 19-8 run to get up by 20 (55-35), their largest lead of the night. The closest the Cougars got after that was 10 points with just under seven minutes remaining.
Abby Midtlien (Fr.-Chaseburg, Wis./Westby) led the game in scoring with 24 points, a career-high. She went 8-for-13 from the field with six three-pointers. Courtney Lewis (Jr.-Prairie du Chien, Wis.) was close to a triple-double as she scored 16 points while pulling down seven rebounds and accumulating nine assists.
As a team, the Blugolds outshot the Cougars from the field 51.9 percent (28-for-54) to 35.1 percent (20-for-57). Eau Claire also outrebounded Morris 36-33.
Eau Claire is now 2-7 on the season while Morris drops to 2-5.
The Blugolds will play again Wednesday at UW-Platteville for the final game before a two-week break. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. in Platteville.
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