EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team began their quest for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament Championship on Monday evening as they hosted UW-River Falls in the quarterfinal round. After reaching an 18-point lead in the third quarter, the Blugolds held on at home to earn a 61-54 playoff win.
Box Score | Photos by Bill Hoepner | Photos by Chops Hancock
In the opening quarter, both squads came out with strong defensive techniques as a scoreless tie would last until the 7:05 mark. After a pair of free throws fell for both sides, the buckets started dropping on both sides of the floor. The Falcons found their groove from beyond the arc with six-three pointers in the opening frame, while the Blugolds found their mark in the paint with 12 points from the lane.
The second quarter opened with Eau Claire momentum as UWEC rattled off a 9-4 run to extend their lead to 14 points. Jessie Ruden (Jr. – Rochester, MN/John Marshall) made an impact throughout the first two quarters as she led the Blugolds with 14 points in 20 minutes. A last-minute buzzer beater by UWRF before halftime cut the Blugold lead to six as the team's hit intermission.
After the break, the momentum kept in favor of the home side as the Blugolds went on a 10-0 run to regain a double-digit lead of 16. Courtney Crouch (Jr. – White Bear Lake, MN) tallied seven of her 13 points in the game to help Eau Claire outscore the Falcons 16-8 in the third quarter.
The final frame kept the WIAC playoff intensity up as UWRF mounted a late comeback to bring the score to just four points with 1:24 left in the contest. Kylie Mogen (So. – Menomonie, WI) hit a buzzer beater of an inbound to beat the shot clock and push UWEC back in front by six with 49 seconds to go. The Blugolds did their job defensively and stopped two of the last three River Falls possessions and closed the game with a 61-54 victory.
Jessie Ruden outscored everyone with 19 points and Kaylie Mogen posted five steals. Tyra Boettcher (Sr. – Menomonie, WI) and Mogen led the Blugolds with eight rebounds each.
The No. 3 seeded Blugolds (19-7, WIAC 9-5) will have a quick turnaround as they will travel to Menomonie, WI on Wednesday, February 23rd to face the No. 2 seed, UW-Stout, in the WIAC Championship semifinals.
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