EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team stifled its I-94 rival and No. 4-ranked UW-Stout tonight, upsetting the Blue Devils 59-44 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds have won five straight and are 5-1 overall after losing the season opener. The Blue Devils suffer their first setback of the season as they also fall to 5-1 overall. The Blugold-win snaps a three-game losing streak to the Blue Devils.

Defense dominated the first half as both teams shot under 30%. For the first 12 minutes of the contest, neither team had a lead of bigger than two with six ties and four lead changes. The Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run to take a 17-13 lead with 4:58 to go in the first half.

It was all Blugolds from that point on. Rachel Mueggenborg (Jr.-West Salem, WI) started the run by hitting two free throws. A Brittanni Hakanson (So.-Wheeler, WI/Boyceville) jumper tied the game at 17-17 with 3:39 to play. A Missy Fremstad (So.-Osseo, WI/Osseo-Fairchild) layup with nine seconds left gave the Blugolds a 25-17 lead and a 12-0 run going into the half.

Both teams combined for 0-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Blugolds got to the line almost three times as much as the Blue Devils in the half and were 9-for-11. The Blugolds had 10 points off of Stout turnovers, compared to two points for the Blue Devils.

The Blugolds continued their run into the second half as two free throws by Heidi Arciszewski (So.-Thorp, WI) and a field goal by Brittanni Hakanson gave Eau Claire a 29-17 lead. Stout finally ended the 16-0 run with two Kelsey Duoss free throws at 18:29. The Blue Devils were held scoreless for 6:28. Duoss, the reining WIAC Player of the Year, was held well below her season scoring average of 17.4 points per game as she finished with nine points after fouling out with 1:44 to go. The Blugolds also held Duoss to just five rebounds. She was the conference leader coming into the contest.

Angie Foschi (Andover, MN/Anoka) gave Eau Claire a 45-25 lead, their biggest of the game, halfway through the second half when she hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. The Blue Devils got to within 13 at the end of the game, but the Blugolds held on to upset the Blue Devils 59-44. The Blue Devils had been leading the conference, averaging 79 points per game

Eau Claire shot 55% in the second half, while Stout shot 39%. The Blugolds out-rebounded the Blue Devils 38-35. Stout was out-rebounding their opponents by 17 boards per game. Eau Claire finished 18-for-23 from the charity stripe.

Michelle Burns (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/North) led all scorers with 13 points. Heidi Arciszewski added 12 points and Brittanni Hakanson had 10. Burns and Amanda Zenner (Jr.-Medford, WI) had eight rebounds apiece to lead the team. Zenner had a solid game with eight points and five assists to go along with those eight rebounds. Missy Fremstad led Eau Claire with six assists. Duoss' nine points led Stout.

Up next the Blugolds will hit the road and face La Crosse as part of a men and women's doubleheader on Saturday. The women will play in the second part of the doubleheader at approximately 5 p.m.

Eau Claire-Stout Box Score

- JR -