EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team picked up a third consecutive victory by knocking off No. 18 UW-Oshkosh 61-52 on Wednesday at Zorn Arena. The Blugolds got a foothold with a big second quarter, and held on in the second half to earn their first win over a ranked team this season.
UW-Eau Claire's zone defense was highly effective, limiting the 18th-ranked Titans to a 25% shooting performance overall and 17% from 3-point range. The Blugolds, meanwhile, shot at a 42% clip and turned in a 78% percentage at the free throw line to earn a key Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) win at Zorn.
"I credit the group in the fact that we just hung together," Blugolds head coach
Tonja Englund said. "We're having fun, we're loose, we're trying to get better every day in practice. I think the team can really see that they're getting better as well."
The Blugolds (10-8, 4-3) got 18 points apiece from
Brianna Nelson (Sr. - Augusta, Wis./Eleva-Strum) and
Kyla Overskei (So. - Maple Grove, Minn.), and
Kylie Mogen (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) added 12 of her own.
UW-Eau Claire got out to a 12-10 lead by the end of the first period, and started to pull further ahead in the second quarter. The Blugolds outscored the Titans 21-13 in the period, helped by a 9-0 run early in the quarter that featured points from four different players. That put them ahead 22-13. UW-Oshkosh (14-4, 5-2) cut the deficit to six later in the quarter, but UW-Eau Claire countered with a 7-0 run to build a 13-point advantage with under two minutes left in the half. The Blugolds eventually led 33-23 at halftime.
UW-Oshkosh was able to hang around down the stretch thanks to a third quarter that saw the Titans outscore the Blugolds 15-8. It left UW-Eau Claire with a 41-38 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Blugolds kept the Titans at arm's length for most of the final period until they hit a layup to make it a 53-50 game with 1:29 left. However, UW-Eau Claire closed the game on an 8-2 run to see out the victory. The Blugolds went 6 for 6 from the free throw line in the final minute of the contest.
Anna Koth (Jr. - Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) and
Olivia Pekron (Jr. - Forest Lake, Minn.) scored five points each for UW-Eau Claire.
Lucia Hauge (Jr. - Hugo, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran Academy) had three points and four rebounds.
It was the Blugolds' first win over a ranked opponent since they knocked off No. 10 Trine on December 29, 2022.
UW-Eau Claire will look for a fourth consecutive win when it faces WIAC leader UW-Whitewater on Saturday, January 27. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. in Whitewater.
