STEVENS POINT, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team fell to UW-Stevens Point 72-63 on Saturday at Berg Gym. The Blugolds pushed the 13-win Pointers down the stretch, but UW-Stevens Point was able to pull away in the fourth quarter for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) victory.
Brianna Nelson (Sr. – Augusta, Wis./Eleva-Strum) and
Kylie Strop (Jr. – River Falls, Wis.) provided a scoring punch as the Blugolds looked to unseat the Pointers, combining for 39 points. However, a couple of fourth-quarter runs helped UW-Stevens Point break open what had been a one-point game with seven minutes left.
The Blugolds (7-8, 1-3) and Pointers (13-2, 2-2) battled back and forth for the whole first half. Neither team led by more than four points throughout the first quarter, and the first big swing of the game didn't come until late in the second quarter. With the Blugolds ahead 21-18 at the 5:26 mark, the Pointers — who received votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll — embarked on a 14-3 run over the next three minutes to build a 12-point lead.
The late-half run allowed the Pointers to take a 35-29 lead into halftime. That was despite UW-Eau Claire shooting 44% from the field, seven percentage points better than UW-Stevens Point. However, the Pointers used the offensive glass to get the foothold, grabbing 11 offensive boards in the first half.
UW-Eau Claire used a 10-4 run across a large chunk of the third quarter to whittle the Pointers' lead down to 44-41, and the Blugolds closed to within two point of the lead when Nelson made a pair of free throws in the waning seconds of the period. UW-Stevens Point led 47-45 entering the final quarter.
The Blugolds cut that deficit to one point on a couple of occasions in the final period, including when Nelson's layup at the 6:57 mark made it a 52-51 UW-Stevens Point lead. However, the Pointers immediately used a 10-2 run to go ahead by nine with 3:46 left, and the Blugolds never cut the lead any lower than five after that.
Nelson had a game-high 21 points for the Blugolds, tying her career best. Strop had 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Olivia Pekron (Jr. – Forest Lake, Minn.) had 10 rebounds and finished one point shy of a double-double, scoring nine points. She also had five assists.
UW-Eau Claire shot 42% from the field, but UW-Stevens Point won the rebounding battle 39-34.
The Blugolds are next in action on Wednesday, January 17, when they visit No. 22 UW-Stout. The women's and men's basketball teams will play a doubleheader, with the women starting the festivities in Menomonie at 6 p.m.
