UW-Eau Claire 67, UW-Stout 64 |
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MENOMONIE (February 19, 2011) - After trailing by 12 at halftime, UW-Stout fought back to grab a lead with under a minute to play, but the Blue Devils failed to connect on key free throws, and gave the lead back to Eau Claire, who snuck out with a 67-64 win, Saturday evening at Johnson Fieldhouse.
Eau Claire's (15-10, 9-7 WIAC) Leah Rempert hit two free throws to grab a 65-64 lead with 30 seconds to play, and Hannah Mesick extended the Blugold's lead to three by hitting two freebies with 14 seconds on the clock. The Blue Devils (10-15, 5-11 WIAC) missed all four of their free throw attempts in the last 32 seconds.
The Blugolds dominated the first half and steadily built their lead throughout the period. Ellen Plendl, who ended the game with 12 points and 10 boards, had the hot hand early for Eau Claire, scoring the game's first six points. With three and a half minutes to play, Eau Claire grabbed a 13-point lead, which would be their largest margin of the game. The Blugolds shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, while the Blue Devils were limited to just 32 percent.
Stout came out of the break on a 6-0 run, sparked by a three point basket from
Kayla Windt (So, Pence). Minutes later,
Gretta Layman (Sr, Chippewa Falls) scored five unanswered points to bring the Blue Devils within one point. Windt hit two free throws with 6:35 left to grab her team their first lead of the game, and later hit a three to put Stout up by two.
Approaching the two-minute mark,
Tricia VanVreede (Sr, Little Chute) hit two free throws to pull within one, and
Sami Schoeder (Fr, Durand) hit a layup on the next possession to give Stout a 64-63 lead with under two minutes to play.
After a turnover with the clock winding down, Eau Claire was forced to foul with 32 seconds on the clock. The Blue Devils came up empty, while the Blugolds were clutch from the line, which proved to be the difference.
Mesick led all players with 18 points. Schoeder added 14 for the Blue Devils while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.
