Blue Devils hold on, defeat UW-La Crosse in WIAC opener

| UW-Stout 54, UW-La Crosse 52 | Photo Gallery | Archived Video

MENOMONIE (December 6, 2014) - Jenna Goldsmith (So, St. Anthony, Minn.) recorded a double-double as the Blue Devils women's basketball team overcame a poor shooting night and a late game comeback attempt by UW-La Crosse to secure a 54-52 victory over the Eagles Saturday afternoon at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Stout (3-5, 1-0 WIAC) led by 12 points with just over 11 minutes to go in the game, but the Eagles (3-6, 0-2 WIAC) kept chipping away, finally tying the game at 44 with 5:26 remaining. The final five minutes of play featured three ties and five lead changes, as the teams went back-and-forth before Kyleigh Hebert (Jr, Spencer) hit a running layup with just 17 seconds remaining to lift Stout to a 54-52 advantage.

On La Crosse's ensuing possession, a baseline runner by the Eagles' Jenna Anderson bounced away from the basket and into the arms of Stout's Katelynne Folkers (Jr, Fall Creek), who was quickly fouled with just 1.6 seconds left on the clock.

Folkers missed both free throws, but Hiebert intercepted La Crosse's pass on the throw-in to clinch the victory for the Blue Devils.

Stout trailed only once in the first half, falling behind by four around the midway point in the period, 11-7. The Blue Devils reclaimed the lead with a 10-0 run, going up 17-11 with seven minutes remaining. The lead continued to grow as Stout outscored the Eagles 15-11 the rest of the way, going into the break with a 32-22 lead.

In the second, Stout continued to hold the lead for most of the half, going up by as many as 13 points at one point. With the Blue Devils up 42-32 with 10:34 to go, the Eagles ran off a 12-2 run, knotting the score at 44 with just over five minutes left, leading to the late game drama and Hebert's game-winner.

Goldsmith finished with 14 points and ten boards-including eight offensive rebounds-for Stout. She scored 10 of her points in the first half and was the only Stout player with multiple shot attempts to shoot over 50 percent from the field, going 7-for-12 in the game. Goldsmith also had two blocks on the defensive end for the Blue Devils.

Folkers also came close to a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds while also picking up three steals. Hebert had nine points, four rebounds and four steals while Sarah Schoch (So, Chippewa Falls) had seven points.

The Blue Devils managed to force the Eagles into turning the ball over 27 times, compared to just 13 times for Stout. La Crosse outshot Stout, 36 percent (18-50) to 27.9 percent (19-68). Both teams struggled from beyond the arc- Stout shot just 3-for-20 and La Crosse shot 2-for-10 - and from the charity stripe - 51.9 percent (14-27) for the Eagles, 48.1 percent (13-27) for Stout.

Up next, the Blue Devils will travel to UW-Stevens Point for a match-up with the Pointers on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.