EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team hosted their final game before the holiday break on Saturday. With the Loras College Duahwks in town and a nonconference battle between two powerhouse offenses who both average 70+ points per game, UW-Eau Claire controlled the tempo and shutdown the Loras offense with a 66-49 victory.
After taking their first loss of the year earlier in the week, the Blugolds bounced back in the opening quarter to put the previous woes away. Courtney Crouch (White Bear Lake, MN) was perfect in the first 10 minutes with seven points off two layups and three free throws. UW-Eau Claire took the early edge down low and overall as they outscored the Duhawks 10-6 in the paint and had a team shooting percentage of 53.3% for a 20-13 lead.
The second quarter showed much of the same gameplan for the home squad as they shot 45% from the floor. Jessie Ruden (Jr. – Rochester, MN/John Marshall) tallied seven of her own points in the second frame for a halftime total of 11. While the offense in the continued to click, the rebounding followed suit as seven Blugolds had three or more rebounds at halftime.
Bailey Reardon (Jr. – River Falls, WI) continued to push in the right direction for the Blugolds as she doubled her points in the third quarter to bring the UWEC to 17 points. Reardon and Ellie Clayton (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/Farmington) kept control in the paint as both led the Blugolds through three quarters with a team lead six rebounds each.
The final quarter saw a much more even side of play as both sides tallied 16 points each. After their worst shooting quarter of the game came in the third, UWEC bounced back with a 46.2% from the floor. Tyra Boettcher (Sr. – Menomonie, WI) finished the game with a team high 14 points while Reardon led the team with seven rebounds.
"I told the team that a win like this after a loss is what defines you.", said Head Coach Tonja Englund after the game. "I thought we finished a lot better inside. The intent of our post players and gameplan worked much better tonight with the three-player rotation of Ganski, Reardon, and Ganser."
The Blugolds (9-1, WIAC 2-0) will be off until after the holidays when they travel to Dallas, TX for three games between December 29-31.
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