LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team outscored Iowa Wesleyan 48-22 in the second half, turning a tie game at halftime into a season-opening 79-53 win here tonight in the first round of the Lake Forest Tip-Off Tournament.

The Blugolds move to 1-0 with the victory and advance to tomorrow's championship game at 3:00 p.m. Eau Claire will play the winner of Concordia vs. Lake Forest.

Neither team led by more than seven points the entire first half, with the Titans jumping to a 10-5 lead early. The Blugolds then went on a 15-3 run to take a 20-13 lead. Katie Murphy (Sr.-La Crosse/Aquinas) had five points during the run, including a three-pointer to finalize the run.

Eau Claire still held firm to an eight-point lead with 3:16 remaining in the contest before Iowa Wesleyan went on an 11-3 run to end the half with the game tied at 31.

The Blugolds regrouped at halftime and started the second half on a 16-4 run, spanning the first 4:23 of the half. Eau Claire would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. Rachel Becker (Jr.-Gilmanton) had seven points during the 16-4 run.

Becker finished with a game-high 22 points off the bench for the Blugolds while also tallying a game-best nine assists and tying for a game-high with seven rebounds. She also tallied two steals. Jessica Dickey (Sr.-White Bear Lake, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall) was second on the team with 13 points while also tallying seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Joanna Leafblad (Sr.-Eau Claire/Memorial) added 11 points and four assists while Murphy finished with 10 points and five steals.

Eau Claire won despite hitting 38.9 percent from the floor, though the Blugolds did connect on 16-of-21 (76.2%) from the charity stripe.

Katie Bartsch led the Titans with 18 points and seven rebounds. She was the only player on Iowa Wesleyan to reach double-digit points as the Titans shot just 30.6 percent from the field.

The Blugolds will be in action tomorrow afternoon to battle for the Lake Forest Tip-Off Tournament title at 3:00 p.m.

Eau Claire-Iowa Wesleyan Box Score

- DN -