WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Heidi Arciszewski (Sr. -Thorp, Wis.) recorded her second double-double of the season and was named Otterbein College's Smokey Ballenger Tournament MVP as the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team defeated Otterbein 74-60 tonight in the championship game.

Arciszewski scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to help the sixth-ranked Blugolds stay perfect on the season with an 11-0 record. Otterbein drops to 5-6 overall. This is the first time since the 2004-05 season Otterbein lost its own tournament.

Heather Witt (Sr.-Kendall, Wis./Royall) earned All-Tournament Team honors as well, scoring 10 points tonight, while also recording five assists and four rebounds. Hannah Mesick (So.-Chatfield, Minn.) and Ashley Anderson (Sr.-Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul) both reached double-figures as well with 11 and 10 points, respectively, and Jodi Lindner (Jr.-Neillsville, Wis.) led the game with a career-high 12 rebounds.

Otterbein's Allison Huettel scored 16 points to lead the all scorers, while Laura Roth added 15 and Katy Miller contributed 12. Huettel also led Otterbein with eight rebounds and Roth led the game with seven assists.

In tonight's game the Blugolds never trailed the entire way. Arciszewski opened scoring with a steal and a layup on a fast break and the Blugolds never looked back. The closest Otterbein got to the Blugolds after that in the first half was three, but the Blugolds took a nine-point lead into the half.

In the second half Eau Claire started with an 8-2 run to increase its lead to 15. At 16:21 the Blugolds reached their largest lead of the game at 17 points. Otterbein gave the Blugolds a run for their money, however, closing the lead to only eight with six minutes left in the contest. The Blugolds turned it around and used a 7-0 run to get back up by 15 with more than three minutes remaining and Otterbein was never able to get back in the game.

The Blugolds ended the game shooting 46.6 percent from the field, while Otterbein shot 38 percent. Eau Claire once again had a big night rebounding, pulling down 43 boards to Otterbein's 27.

The Blugolds have the next week off and will return to action January 7 when they travel to Superior to face conference opponent UW-Superior. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Eau Claire-Otterbein Box Score

- KM -