DE PERE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team triumphed over St. Norbert College, 70-63, in a closely contested matchup on Tuesday at the Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center. The Blugolds capitalized on 11 steals, converting them into 21 points off turnovers, and maintained their edge with a 32-30 advantage in paint points. The Green Knights kept pace until the third quarter, where they were limited to just 10 points, allowing UW-Eau Claire to secure the win.
The first quarter commenced with
Britta DeMar propelling the Blugolds into an early lead with a three-pointer at 9:41.
Reanna Hutchinson extended the lead with a fastbreak layup, making it 5-0.
Olivia Witkowski contributed with a defensive rebound and a tip-in at 7:51, pushing the score to 7-0. The Green Knights responded with a three-pointer at 6:29, narrowing the gap to 7-5. St. Norbert's defensive rebound and subsequent free throws at the final second of the quarter gave St. Norbert a 16-14 edge heading into the second quarter.
In a tightly contested second quarter, the Blugolds and the Green Knights each scored 18 points, maintaining the close nature of the matchup.
Kyla Overskei tied the game early with two free throws at 9:12, and
Britta DeMar added a layup at 8:40 after a steal by
Delaney Nyenhuis. St. Norbert responded with a three-pointer at 7:20, bringing the score to 20-19. As the quarter wound down, SNC's three-pointer with 20 seconds left pushed the Green Knights ahead, 34-32. Despite the Blugolds' efforts, including two crucial free throws by
Olivia Witkowski at 0:45, St. Norbert held a slight edge going into halftime.
UW-Eau Claire capitalized on strong offensive rebounding to take control in the third quarter. Witkowski's two free throws at 9:15 tied the score at 34-34, and
Kyla Overskei's layup gave them the lead shortly after. Overskei extended the lead to 41-38 with a three-pointer at 6:41, assisted by
Britta DeMar.
Delaney Nyenhuis contributed with an offensive tip-in at 2:45, increasing the lead to 47-42.
Reanna Hutchinson sealed the quarter with a layup in the final seconds, pushing their lead to 50-44. The Blugolds outscored the Green Knights 18-10 in the quarter.
UW-Eau Claire secured a 70-63 victory over St. Norbert in a tightly contested fourth quarter. St. Norbert scored early with a layup to narrow the gap, but
Britta DeMar responded by hitting a three-pointer at 8:29, extending the lead.
Reanna Hutchinson's scoring efforts, including a crucial three-pointer with 1:11 remaining, helped maintain the lead for the visitors. Despite attempts by the Green Knights to close the gap, UWEC's free throws in the final moments sealed their win.
Kyla Overskei led the team with 19 points, converting 6 of 9 free throws and sinking three 3-pointers.
Britta DeMar contributed 16 points, making all three of her 3-point attempts and recording two steals.
Reanna Hutchinson added 15 points, shooting 6 of 14 from the field and blocking one shot.
Delaney Nyenhuis collected 12 rebounds and tallied three steals, finishing with 10 points.
The Blugolds are now 5-1 overall. The Green Knights hold a record of 1-3 on the season.
Looking ahead, UWEC will face University of Minnesota Morris at the Sonnentag Event Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m.
