UW-Stevens Point 82, UW-Stout 74
STEVENS POINT (February 25, 2010) -
Julia Hirssig (Sr, Rochester, Minn) put the exclamation point on an outstanding career with a 32-point, 14-rebound effort, but UW-Stout would come up short as UW-Stevens Point defeated the Blue Devils, 82-74, in the semi-final game of the WIAC tournament at Berg Gym Thursday.
Stout (16-11) held a 37-34 halftime lead, but the Pointers wasted little time taking the lead in the second half, tying the game at 37 less than two minutes after the break, then taking the lead moments later. Stout would go ahead 42-41 on a Hirssig field goal, but Andrea Flease would put the Pointers ahead for good, 43-41, and Stevens Point would not trail again.
The Pointers (20-6) built up a nine point lead, but two buckets by Hirssig and a 3-pointer by
Kayla Windt (Fr, Pence) pulled Stout to within two points, 58-56. HIrssig continued to pour in the points - she had 19 inthe second half - and
Danielle DeWitt (Sr, Green Bay) hit a 3-pointer to tie the score at 62-62 with 8:32 left in the game.
Neither team scored for a minute, but following the lull, the Pointers went on a 9-1 run and Stout, forced to foul, could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Pointers' Flease proved to be a thorn in Stout's side throughout the game and finished with 28 points and four steals. Josi Schultz added 14 points, Cassie Bandow 11 and Britta Petersen 10 points and 10 rebounds, all defensive rebounds.
Hirssig was complemented by fellow senior
Kim Stokke (Sr, Menomonie) who added 12 points and five assists. Windt tossed in nine points and DeWitt eight points.
Hirssig was 12-of-19 from the floor, 8-of-14 from the free throw line and had 10 offensive rebounds, four defensive.
Hirssig's 32 points broke a couple of school records. The tally pushed her career totals to 1738 points, making her the all-time scorer in Stout basketball history. The men's basketball leading career scorer is Cal Glover with 1729 points.
Hirssig also broke Julie Maki's individual season scoring record of 575 points, finishing this season with 579 points. In addition, Hirssig broke her own school record for single season field goal percentage, shooting 68.2 percent, going 217-of-318 from the floor. Hirssig held the previous mark from her sophomore season, hitting 64.8 percent of her shots.
UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Eau Claire, 73-68, in the other semi-final game. Stevens Point will play at Whitewater Saturday, Feb. 27, for the tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
