LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - UW-La Crosse led most of the first half, but the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team played tough in the second half to defeat the Eagles 68-62 at Mitchell Hall today.

The Blugolds have won eight in a row against La Crosse and improve to 7-11 overall and 6-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Eagles fall to 12-6 on the season and 4-5 in WIAC play.

While the score was tied four times in the first half and the lead changed nine times, the lead changed just once in the second half on the opening basket as the Blugolds took control of the game.

Eau Claire held La Crosse scoreless over the last three minutes of the first half and the first three minutes of the second half, building a five-point lead. The Eagles were never able to recover and the Blugolds built their largest lead of the game at 15 points with eight minutes to go.

La Crosse closed the gap to just two points three times the rest of the way but Eau Claire held strong to take home the six-point win.

The Blugolds shot well, going 25-for-48 from the floor (52.1 percent) while the Eagles were 19-for-50 (38 percent). The Eagles hit a school-record 11 three-pointers while the Blugolds were 3-for-6 from beyond the arc with all of them coming from Laura Olson (So.-Osseo, Wis./Osseo-Fairchild). She was one of four Blugolds in double figures and finished with 13 points.

Hannah Mesick (Jr.-Chatfield, Minn.) led the way for Eau Claire with 20 points while Ellen Plendl (So.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) added 17 and Sarah Bingea (Fr.-Delano, Minn.) had 10. Plendl and Jodi Lindner (Sr.-Neillsville, Wis.) also had game-highs with eight rebounds each. The Blugolds finished with 32 boards to La Crosse's 28.

The Blugolds will be on the road again Wednesday as they take on UW-Oshkosh. Action is set to get underway at 7 p.m. at Kolf Sports Center.