EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team led from start to finish in an 83-41 victory over Northland College on Friday at Zorn Arena. The Blugolds limited the LumberJills to single figures on the scoreboard until the second quarter, and got contributions from all over on offense to cruise to a win.
Fifteen different players scored for UW-Eau Claire, led by 18 from Jessie Ruden (Sr. - Rochester, Minn./John Marshall). Tyra Boettcher (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) added 15 points and seven rebounds, and the Blugolds' bench put 34 points on the board.
"We've talked with our starting group about coming out and putting a team away right away," Blugolds coach Tonja Englund said. "We've had too many times where we haven't been sharp off the tip, and that starting unit that I have right now, I really like what they did today. I think that they grew the lead to give everybody else opportunities and chances today. I thought that was really positive."
The 13th-ranked Blugolds opened the game with a 12-0 run and never trailed. Ruden scored five points in the opening stretch, and the Blugolds lead' swelled to 16 later in the first quarter. They entered the second ahead 23-9.
UW-Eau Claire put the game out of reach in the second quarter. The Blugolds outscored the LumberJills 34-5 in the period to build a 57-14 halftime lead. They shot 59% from the field in the period and forced 10 turnovers. Defensively, UW-Eau Claire only allowed two points through the first seven and a half minutes of the quarter.
The Blugolds outscored Northland 18-10 in the third quarter and held serve in the fourth to improve to 6-1 this season. Kylie Mogen (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) had a team-high nine rebounds.
The Blugolds' bench made its mark all afternoon. Kyla Overskei (Fr. - Maple Grove, Minn.) led the way with seven points, and Bailey Reardon (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) and Anna Koth (So. - Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) chipped in with five points each. Evelyn Walker (So. - Sun Prairie, Wis./La Follette) tallied four points and five rebounds. Katie Pampuch (So. - Hubertus, Wis./Germantown) had three points and three rebounds, and Olivia Pekron (So. - Forest Lake, Minn.) had five rebounds. In all, 10 players scored off the bench.
UW-Eau Claire is back on the court when it hosts UW-River Falls on Wednesday, Nov. 30, to open WIAC play. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Zorn Arena.
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