WHITEWATER, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team was back in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship games for the first time since 2020 as they faced the No. 1 seeded UW-Whitewater Warhawks. After trailing at halftime, the Blugolds outscored the Warhawks 47-25 in the second half to capture a 77-63 victory and their first WIAC Championship since 2003.
A first half full of woes for UWEC helped build the intensity and the drama for the WIAC finals. The Blugolds found an early groove in the opening quarter with a 7-0 run to begin the game. Tyra Boettcher (Sr. – Menomonie, WI) tallied seven of her 15 total points in the first quarter to help UWEC lead by four after ten minutes of play. Whitewater answered in the second with five three's and 25 points to change the momentum to a 38-30 lead at half.
With UWW keeping Eau Claire to just 30% in the first 20 minutes, an answer from the No. 3 seeded Blugolds was there for the taking.
A 13-point run halfway through the third quarter brought the contest back to even at 48-48 and tilted the momentum to the visitors. Jessie Ruden (Jr. – Rochester, MN/John Marshall) recorded a career high 19 points in the third quarter alone to push UW-Eau Claire to a two-point lead before the final quarter. Ruden came into the game as the WIAC's leading scorer with 495 points on the year and lived up to her status by posting a career high 31 points on the night. She hit her milestone 500th point with 1:03 left in the first quarter to become the first Blugold to hit the prestigious achievement since Kristi Channing did it during the 2002-03 season.
The fourth quarter was all Eau Claire all the time as they outscored the Warhawks 20-8 to seal the victory. Courtney Crouch (Jr. – White Bear Lake, MN) posted 10 of her 20 total points in the final frame to keep UWW from building any sense of a comeback. Without wavering their lead once in the final ten minutes, UWEC claimed their fourth WIAC Championship in program history with the 77-63 win away from home.
The Blugolds (21-7, WIAC 9-5) punch their ticket into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship tournament with the automatic bid from the conference tournament crown. They will await to see their first-round opponent in the regional round set for Friday, March 4th. The 2022 NCAA DIII women's basketball selection show will air on Monday, February 28th at 1:30PM CST. You can watch it live on NCAA.com. Shortly after the show, the 64-team bracket will be live here.
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