STEVENS POINT - The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team was unable to get its first conference road win tonight as it lost to UW-Stevens Point by a score of 64-44 at Berg Gymnasium.

The loss drops the Blugolds overall record to 9-6 and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record to 3-3. The Pointers improve to 11-3 overall and 4-3 in the WIAC. The Pointers are ranked 23rd in the latest USA Today/ESPN Division III Coaches poll.

Brittanni Hakanson (So.-Wheeler, WI/Boyceville) got the scoring started with jumper to give the Blugolds a 2-0 lead. A Heidi Arciszewski (So.-Thorp, WI) layup gave the Blugolds a 6-2 lead with 16:27 to play in the first half. Stevens Point then went on a 10-0 run to take a 12-6 lead with 14:55 to play in the half. The Pointers would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. Stevens Point grew its lead to 13 with 2:43 remaining in the first half. The Pointers headed into halftime with a 32-20 advantage.

Stevens Point shot 54% from the field and was 4-for-7 for three-pointers in the first half. The Blugolds shot 33% in the first half and made their only three-point attempt. The Pointers out-rebounded the Blugolds 19-11, which led to seven, second chance points. The Pointers bench out-scored the Blugolds bench 13-4 in the half.

The Pointers extended their lead to 16 points with 14:33 remaining in the game. The Blugolds then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 43-35 with 12:17 to go. Three-pointers by Michelle Burns (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/North) and Heidi Arciszewski, plus a basket by Amanda Zenner (Jr.-Medford, WI) made up the run.

However, Eau Claire would miss their next 11 shots as the Pointers went on an 11-0 run to extend their lead back to 54-35 with a little less than eight minutes to play. The Blugolds got only as close as 14 points the rest of the way as Stevens Point cruised to a 64-44 victory. The home team has now won nine straight in the series.

The Blugolds shot just 28% for the game. The Pointers shot 50% from the field and made 43% of their three-pointers. Stevens Point out-rebounded Eau Claire 39-30 and out-scored the Blugolds in the paint 16-8.

Heidi Arciszewski led the Blugolds with 13 points. Michelle Burns had her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Janell Van Gomple led the Pointers with 13 points.

The Blugolds return home Saturday for a WIAC contest against UW-Platteville. That game will follow the men's game and should start approximately at 5 p.m. in Zorn Arena.

Eau Claire-Stevens Point Box Score

- JR -