ST. CLOUD, MN - St. Cloud State University (MN) scored the first 18 points of the game today on its way to defeating the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team by a score of 71-55 at Halenbeck Hall.

The loss drops the Blugolds to a record of 6-3 overall, while St. Cloud State, a Division II school, improves to a record of 8-3. This was the first meeting between the two schools since 1985.

The Huskies came out strong to begin with, jumping out to an 18-0 lead the first six minutes of the game. The Blugolds got their first points on an Ashley Anderson (So.-Oakdale, MN/North St. Paul) jumper with 13:30 to go in the first half. The Blugolds when on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 11 with 9:11 remaining in the half. Heidi Arciszewski (So.-Thorp, WI) scored nine of the first 11 points for Eau Claire.

The Blugolds eventually got the Husky lead down to single-digits at 26-17 with a little over four minutes to go in the half. However, the lead grew back to 14, but Eau Claire's Michelle Burns (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/North) hit a jumper with one second left to cut the St. Cloud State halftime lead to 35-23.

The Blugolds shot just 25% from the field in the first half, while the Huskies shot 36%. St. Cloud State also out-rebounded the Blugolds 28-21 in the half.

It wouldn't get much better for the Blugolds in the second half as the Huskies slowly grew their lead throughout the half, culminating in a 25-point lead with 9:56 to go in the contest. Eau Claire cut the lead back down to 16 at the end of the game, but Huskies still prevailed with a 71-55 victory. St. Cloud State is now 7-1 all-time against the Blugolds, winning the last seven meetings.

The Blugolds shot considerably better in the second half as they shot 46%. Eau Claire finished shooting 35% from the field. The Huskies shot 38% from the field. St. Cloud State out-rebounded the Blugolds 52-35 in the game.

Heidi Arciszewski led the Blugolds in scoring with 15 points. Amanda Zenner (Jr.-Medford, WI) was the only other Blugolds to score in double-figures as she had 12 points. Zenner also led the team with eight rebounds and four assists. Erika Quigley led all-scorers with 28 points for the Huskies.

The Blugolds will travel to face Carroll College next Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Eau Claire-St. Cloud State Box Score

- JR -