SAN DIEGO, Calif. - After losing on the first day of the San Diego Surf N? Slam tournament, the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team bounced back with a 72-46 win over Ithaca College (N.Y.) today.

This was the first time the teams have ever met. With the win, the Blugolds improve to 9-2 on the season, while the Ithaca Bombers drop to 3-5.

Eau Claire started today's game strong, scoring the first four points of the game. Hannah Mesick (Fr.-Chatfield, Minn.) opened scoring with a layup 30 seconds into the game, on an assist from Heidi Arciszewski (Jr.-Thorp, Wis.), and would never relinquish the lead. The Blugolds steadily increased their lead throughout the first half and did not allow the Bombers to break 10 points until 8:39 was left in the half. The largest lead of the first half, 24, came on a Michelle Burns (Sr.-Eau Claire, Wis./North) free throw with just over one minute remaining. Eau Claire would then go into halftime up 42-18. The Blugolds shot 50.0% from the field (15-for-30) and drained five three-pointers of 11 in the first half.

The second half opened with a three-pointer from the Bombers, followed by a free throw 30 seconds later, cutting the Blugold lead to 20. Eau Claire would then go on a 10 point run, ending at 16 minutes, to increase its lead to 30. The Blugolds never dropped below a 27 point lead until only three minutes remained in the game, and achieved their largest lead of the game, 32 points, on a layup by Burns with just under 10 minutes remaining. The final basket of the game for the Blugolds was scored by freshman Ashley Hightower (La Crosse, Wis./Logan) with 30 seconds remaining.

For the game, the Blugolds shot 45.0% from the field (27-for-60) and 37.5% from beyond the arc (6-for-16). The Bombers did not shoot well today, going 14-for-58 (24.1%) from the field and 7-for-24 from beyond the arc (29.2%). In the paint, Eau Claire scored 32 points while Ithaca was only able to score six.

Arciszewski led the game in scoring with a season high 20 points. Burns was also in double-digits with 14 points. Mesick led the team with six rebounds, while four other Blugolds each pulled down five. Missy Fremstad (Jr.-Osseo, Wis./Osseo-Fairchild) led the game with four steals while Arciszewski led the game with seven assists.

The Blugolds will finish up the three day tournament with a game set for 2 p.m. central time. They will face the winner of the Rivier vs. Point Loma Nazarene game that is being played at 2 p.m. Friday.

Eau Claire-Ithaca Box Score

- KM -