EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team battled down to the wire, but came up just short in a 66-53 defeat to No. 4 UW-Whitewater on Saturday at Zorn Arena. The Blugolds were within six points of their highly ranked foe in the fourth quarter, but the Warhawks managed to pull away down the stretch.
UW-Eau Claire overcame a slow start and was never out of the contest. The Blugolds (7-6, 1-1) made a few pushes in the second half and got as close as five points away from tying the game, but the Warhawks (13-0, 2-0) had an answer each time.
"I thought that we battled," Blugolds head coach
Tonja Englund said. "Now we've seen the No. 2, the No. 4 and No. 8 team(s) in the country. We've played them toe-to-toe. It's the gaps — it's the decision-making, it's the maturity that's got to come for us in order to beat those ranked teams like that.
"Great league game again tonight. Every single game in our league is just tremendous."
Kylie Strop (Jr. - River Falls, Wis.) led the Blugolds with 14 points. The guard also had four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Anna Koth (Jr. - Maple Grove, Minn./Wayzata) added 11 points, and
Kylie Mogen (Sr. - Menomonie, Wis.) had nine points and eight rebounds.
Kyla Overskei (So. - Maple Grove, Minn.) scored nine points and grabbed four boards, and
Evelyn Walker (Jr. - Madison, Wis./La Follette) had seven points and seven rebounds.
UW-Whitewater opened the game with an 11-0 run, but the Blugolds countered to keep things manageable. UW-Eau Claire used a 9-2 run to pull back in it, although the Warhawks still led 19-10 at the end of the first quarter.
UW-Whitewater used another strong start in the second quarter to go ahead by 14 at 27-13. The Blugolds answered again though, ripping off an 8-0 run to pull within six at 27-21 with 3:52 until halftime. However, the Warhawks closed on a 9-1 spurt to take a 36-22 lead into halftime.
The Blugolds chipped away at the lead in the second half, riding a 17-6 run early in the third quarter to pull within two possessions of the lead. A basket by Mogen with 3:55 left in the third made the score 44-39 in UW-Whitewater's favor, and the deficit remained in single figures for the rest of the period.
Koth hit a 3-pointer with 7:32 left in regulation to pull UW-Eau Claire within six at 53-47, but the Blugolds couldn't get any closer. The Warhawks finished out the game on a 13-6 run.
UW-Eau Claire will look to bounce back when it hosts UW-River Falls on Wednesday, January 10, at Zorn Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
