EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team was back in Zorn Arena on Wednesday evening for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contest against rivals UW-Stout. In the 99th edition of the "War on 94", the Blugolds found themselves with a deficit early and couldn't complete a comeback. UWEC suffered just their fourth loss of the season, 72-68.
The first quarter the UW-Stout Blue Devils controlled the glass from the beginning by out-rebounding the Blugolds 22 to 15 in the first half. The Blugolds put together a six-point run with five minutes to go to cut away at the Stout lead, but they never could erase the deficit.
In the second half, the Blugolds shifted the momentum early and cut the Stout lead to just five with three pointers from Jade Ganski (So. – Rothschild, WI/Newman Catholic) and Jessie Ruden (Jr. – Rochester, MN/John Marshall). The Blue Devils answered with a run of their own to gain the biggest lead of the game, 50-40.
The final quarter showed some light for the home squad as Ruden and Courtney Crouch (Jr. – White Bear Lake, MN) combined for another six-point run to bring the deficit to three with five minutes to go. Both teams went on similar runs as Stout extended their lead back to ten with two minutes to go, and the Blugolds cut it back down to three after a layup from Ruden and a three pointer from Tyra Boettcher (Sr. – Menomonie, WI) with 36 seconds remaining in the game. UW-Eau Claire found themselves with three chances in the final 20 seconds to complete the comeback but could not find any justice with the basket.
The Blugolds (11-4-0, WIAC 2-2) will head back on the road on Saturday, January 15th when they travel to UW-La Crosse for a 3PM WIAC matchup.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
