EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team battled, but ultimately fell to 17th-ranked UW-Whitewater 79-69 on Saturday at Zorn Arena. An 11-point swing in the third quarter made the difference, and the ninth-ranked Blugolds saw their comeback bid thwarted in the final period.
The Blugolds and Warhawks battled back and forth in the first half. UW-Eau Claire ran out to a 6-2 lead after Courtney Crouch (Sr. - White Bear Lake, Minn.) embarked on an early personal 4-0 spurt, but UW-Whitewater pushed into the lead later in the first period. They closed the opening quarter on a 9-2 run to establish a 19-15 advantage at the first intermission.
A couple of 3-pointers early in the second quarter helped push the Warhawks' lead to 10 points at 29-19. However, back-to-back layups from Bailey Reardon (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) started a 7-0 run, which also featured a 3-pointer from Lucia Hauge (So. - Hugo, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran Academy). The Blugolds pulled within two of the lead twice in the final stages of the first half, but the Warhawks carried a 36-32 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter saw UW-Whitewater outscore UW-Eau Claire 22-11 and get its lead as high as 15 on a few occasions. The Blugolds kept pace early in the quarter, but couldn't overcome a couple of slow stretches on the offensive side of the court. The quarter featured a 9-1 run for the Warhawks.
The Blugolds cut a 17-point lead down to single digits in the fourth quarter, but ran out of time for their comeback efforts. The closest they got was within seven points when Tyra Boettcher (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. But each time UW-Eau Claire made a push, the Warhawks had an answer.
Kylie Strop (Jr. - River Falls, Wis.) led the Blugolds with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals off the bench. Crouch, Boettcher and Hauge all scored 10 points. Boettcher and Hauge had six and five rebounds, respectively. Reardon scored nine points and Jessie Ruden (Sr. - Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) added eight of her own.
The Blugolds shot 48% from the field, but couldn't quite overcome the Warhawks on the boards. UW-Whitewater outrebounded the Blugolds 40-35, and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points.
UW-Eau Claire will look to bounce back when it visits UW-Platteville on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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