STEVENS POINT, Wis. (blugolds.com) — A strong start and a standout finish helped the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team defeat UW-Stevens Point 72-60 on Saturday at Berg Gym. The Blugolds outscored the Pointers 18-10 in the first period and put up 24 points in the fourth to defeat the Pointers.
The Blugolds outscored the Pointers 13-5 across the final 5:35 of the opening quarter with contributions from up and down the lineup. They led 18-10 at the end of the period, and went ahead by 12 early in the second period.
The Pointers had an answer later in the second quarter. They used an 11-1 run to make it a one-possession game at 24-22 with 5:34 remaining. The Pointers eventually took the lead with a 3-pointer at the 3:01 mark, but the Blugolds regained the advantage just before the half on a layup from Bailey Reardon (Sr. - River Falls, Wis.) with six seconds left. It put UW-Eau Claire in front 33-31 entering the break.
An 8-0 spurt midway through the third quarter gave the Blugolds a 41-36 lead. The Pointers responded though, and closed the period on an 8-1 run to tie the game at 46 entering the fourth quarter.
UW-Eau Claire secured the victory by outscoring their opponent 26-14 in the final period. A 9-0 run in the late stages made the difference, turning a 59-57 lead into a 68-57 advantage with a minute left. The stretch was started by a 3-pointer from Tyra Boettcher (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.). She scored six of the nine points in the run.
Courtney Crouch (Sr. - White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Jessie Ruden (Sr. - Rochester, Minn./John Marshall) shared the team high with 13 points. Boettcher had 11 points and six rebounds. Kylie Mogen (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) scored nine points and tallied a game-high 11 rebounds. She also had four blocks. Reardon finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Seven Blugolds scored seven or more points in a well-rounded showing. UW-Eau Claire shot 49% from the field and got 18 points from its bench. Defensively, the Blugolds forced the Pointers into 13 turnovers.
UW-Eau Claire finishes out the regular season with a road game against UW-Stout on Wednesday, Feb. 15. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
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