EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - Despite being down by 14 points at halftime, the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team came out strong in the second to pick up a 61-55 victory over UW-La Crosse at Zorn Arena today.

The Blugolds improve to 3-4 overall and 2-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Eagles fall to 5-3 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The Blugolds have now won seven straight games against the Eagles.

While Eau Claire started the game ahead, La Crosse took the lead at 12:27 and built it to 14 at the half. Leah Rempert (Fr.-Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) hit a key three-pointer at the buzzer in the first half to give the Blugolds some momentum.

Eau Claire came out strong in the second half and started with a 6-0 run. From Rempert's shot at the end of the first to 9:51 in the second, the Blugolds outscored the Eagles 23-4 to take the lead. After La Crosse tied it up once more, the Blugolds then went on a 14-4 run to take a 10-point lead with less than two minutes to go. La Crosse would never be able to overcome in the deficit.

The Blugolds missed only four shots from the floor in the second half, shooting 75 percent (12-for-16). They held La Crosse to just 17 second-half points. For the game, Eau Claire shot 57.9 percent (22-for-38) while the Eagles were 21-for-59 (35.6 percent).

For the first time this season, Eau Claire was outrebounded as La Crosse pulled down 33, including 17 offensive boards, to Eau Claire's 30.

Hannah Mesick (Jr.-Chatfield, Minn.) led the way for Eau Claire with 16 points while Ellen Plendl (So.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) picked up 15 and Sarah Bingea (Fr.-Delano, Minn.) added 10. Plendl and Jodi Lindner (Sr.-Neillsville, Wis.) each finished with nine rebounds to lead the Blugolds.

The Blugolds will be on the road for only the second time this season when they travel to UW-River Falls to take on the Falcons on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.