EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugold.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team took down 24th-ranked St. Norbert at Zorn Arena Tuesday night, 66-53.
St. Norbert would lead 3-0 to start the game on a 3-pointer by Jill Kleiman, but the Blugolds would take control by going on a 12-1 run over a five-minute stretch to take a 12-4 lead. The Green Knights would tie the game 12-12 with 10:11 left in the first half but Eau Claire would go on a 7-0 run and would never trail again.
The Green Knights, ranked No. 24 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25, shot just 38.9 percent from the floor, making only 21 of 54 field-goal attempts. Eau Claire (3-2) shot 53.3 percent from the field, canning 24 of 45 field-goal attempts.
The Blugolds, who led 27-21 at halftime, pushed their lead to 11 points at 34-23 on a 3-pointer by Teenie Lichtfuss (Jr.-Oshkosh, WI) early in the second half. St. Norbert would get to within 42-37 on a Regan Carmichael 3-pointer with 10:13 left but a 3-pointer and basket by Kristin Sahr (Sr.-Stillwater, MN) would double Eau Claire's lead to 10 and the Green Knights would get no closer.
Sahr had a career night in her first start of the season, racking up 22 points to lead all scorers.
"St. Norbert always applies great pressure," said Englund. "Kristin is such an intelligent and technical player. She has been in pressure situations and I knew she could handle it."
Sahr was eight-for-11 from the field and shot an impressive four-for-five from behind the arc. The senior also dished out five assists.
Senior Courtney Lewis (Sr.-Prairie du Chien, WI), the team's leading scorer this season, put up her season average of 13 points, to go along with five rebounds.
Lichtfuss added nine points, while Rachel Egdorf (Sr.-Mishicot, WI) provided crucial interior defense and rebounding, recording a game-high eight rebounds. Egdorf's defensive aptitude prompted Englund to turn to a zone defense, funneling ball handlers into her domain.
Madison Johnson (Jr.-Osceola, WI) added eight points and seven rebounds while sophomore Abby Midtlien (So.-Chaseburg, WI) proved to be a key asset of the bench, chipping in 10 points.
The Blugolds will be back in action Saturday as they travel to Naperville, Illinois to take on North Central at 2 p.m.
