STEVENS POINT - The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team was defeated tonight by conference opponent UW-Stevens Point by a score of 68-54.

The loss drops the Blugolds to 10-11 overall and 5-7 in conference action. The victory gives the Pointers a 15-5 overall record and an 8-3 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record. The home team has won seven-straight games in the series.

The first half was close between the two teams. For the first 13 minutes neither team had a lead bigger than four. There were four ties during that time span. With score tied 20-20, the Pointers would go on a 10-0 run to go up 30-20 with 5:22 remaining in the first half. The Pointers would keep that lead and go into halftime with a 37-30 advantage.

Stevens Point shot 50% in the first half, while the Blugolds shot 42.9%. The Blugolds had six fastbreak points, compared to 0 for the Pointers.

The Pointers would build their lead up to 13 with 13:21 to go in the game. The Blugolds would then go on a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to four with 10 minutes to go. The Pointers would then hit seven straight field goals and extend their lead back up to 13 with 4:19 to go. The Pointers would lead by as much as 17 points as they cruised to victory 68-54.

The Blugolds shot just 16% in the second half and finished shooting 29% for the game. The Pointers shot 51.9% for the game. The Pointers out-rebounded the Blugolds 41-27 for the game and outscored them in the paint 36-14.

Heidi Arciszewski (Fr.-Thorp, WI) led the Blugolds in scoring with 15 points. She also led the team in rebounding with eight boards. Brittanni Hakanson (Fr.-Wheeler, WI/Boyceville) was the only other Blugold in double-figures as she scored 12 points. Laura Neuenfeldt led all scorers with 17 points for the Pointers.

The Blugolds will return home next Wednesday night, as they will face UW-River Falls. The action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Zorn Arena.

Eau Claire-Stevens Point Box Score

- JR -