PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team used a second-half surge to defeat UW-Platteville 70-45 in its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener on Wednesday at Williams Fieldhouse. The Blugolds outscored the Pioneers 45-18 after halftime to flip an early deficit and cruise to their first conference win of the season.
UW-Eau Claire (7-5, 1-0) trailed by six late in the first half, but went ahead early in the third period and never looked back. The Blugolds shot 62% from the field in the second half, including a 64% clip from 3-point range.
Kyla Overskei (So. - Maple Grove, Minn.) powered the charge with a career-best 28 points. She made six 3-pointers, which ties for the seventh-best total in a single game in program history.
Neither side had much breathing room until late in the second half when the Pioneers (7-5, 0-1) used a 7-0 run to get ahead 27-21 with 1:36 to go. The Blugolds answered with baskets from
Kylie Mogen (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) and
Evelyn Walker (Jr. - Madison, Wis./La Follette) to trim the deficit to 27-25 at halftime.
A fast-break layup by
Anna Koth (Jr. - Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) put the Blugolds ahead 31-30 with 8:09 remaining in the third quarter, and they never trailed again. The basket started a 19-3 run to end the period, a quarter in which the Blugolds outscored the Pioneers 23-6. Overskei knocked down three 3-pointers in the period.
UW-Eau Claire's lead continued to balloon in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Overskei started a 20-6 spurt to close out the game and seal a 25-point victory over a team which received votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
Overskei made 11 of 14 shots for a 79% shooting percentage. She also grabbed two rebounds.
Kylie Strop (Jr. - River Falls, Wis.) and Mogen had 10 points each. Mogen had nine rebounds and matched a career high with five blocks. Strop nearly recorded a triple-double, dishing eight assists and grabbing seven rebounds. Her eight assists were her second-best total of the season. Walker finished with eight points and nine rebounds.
The Blugolds grabbed 37 rebounds, compared to 27 for the Pioneers. The Blugolds have now won nine consecutive games over UW-Platteville dating back to the 2018-19 season.
UW-Eau Claire will play its first home game since December 1 when it returns to Zorn Arena on Saturday, January 6. The Blugolds host No. 4 UW-Whitewater in a WIAC contest at 5 p.m.
