LA CROSSE, Wis. - Despite a close game the majority of the way, the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team came on strong at the end of the second half to secure a 64-47 victory over UW-La Crosse at Mitchell Hall today.

The Blugolds move to 15-2 on the year and 7-2 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play. La Crosse drops to 13-5 overall and 5-4 in the WIAC. The Blugolds completed the series sweep against the Eagles for the season as Eau Claire beat La Crosse earlier this season 66-52 at Zorn Arena.

While the Blugolds led almost the entire match, they could not pull away from La Crosse. The Eagles led twice during the game but only by one point each time and the score was also tied up twice. The Blugolds took a six-point lead into the half at 29-23.

In the second half the Eagles got to within three a few times but with just under eight minutes to go Eau Claire turned it up a notch to break away from La Crosse. From 7:44 until the end of the game, the Blugolds outscored the Eagles 21-8 to take home the 64-47 win.

Hannah Mesick (So.-Chatfield, Minn.) and Heidi Arciszewski (Sr.-Thorp, Wis.) each recorded team-highs with 14 points, while Mesick and Jodi Lindner (Jr.-Neillsville, Wis.) both pulled down eight rebounds to lead the game. Lindner, who has started all but two games this season, came off the bench today and recorded a career-high 13 points.

Heather Witt (Sr.-Kendall, Wis./Royall) added 10 points for Eau Claire and led the game with five steals. Missy Fremstad (Sr.-Osseo, Wis./Osseo-Fairchild) contributed nine points.

Mackenzie Hunter, who leads the conference in scoring this season, came away with a game-high 16 points for the Eagles. She also finished with two assists and led La Crosse with four steals. Lindsay Wahl finished the game with 13 points and led the team with six boards.

Next up Eau Claire will face UW-Superior at 7 p.m. at Zorn Arena on Wednesday for youth night. Two youths will be admitted free with each paid adult and J.J. Jumper, the NCAA's mascot, will be at the game to entertain the crowd and sign autographs. Players will also sign autographs at the conclusion of the game.

Eau Claire-La Crosse Box Score

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