WHITEWATER, Wis. - Raegan Sorensen scored 22 points and
Amanda Giesen added 16 to lead the Blue Devils past UW-Whitewater (22-4) 69-59 in the WIAC Tournament Semifinals Wednesday night.
With the win, UW-Stout (20-7) advances to their first WIAC Tournament Championship game since the 2007 season.
Sorensen led all scorers with 22 points, and narrowly missed her 13th double-double of the season with nine rebounds, three steals, two assists.
Stout started fast, jumping out an early 5-0 lead, then extended the lead to 13 and took a 18-9 lead after one quarter of play. The Blue Devils held UWW to just three made field goals in the quarter. The Warhawks didn't make their second field goal of the game until the 2:06 mark.
Stout held a double digit lead for most of the first six minutes of the second quarter until UWW made a run to cut the lead to four with 1:17 left to play, before a
Anna Mutch jumper in the paint and a
Lexi Wagner triple with 17 seconds left gave Stout a 34-25 halftime lead.
The Warhawks went on a run to start the second half and cut the lead to 37-35 with 6:12 left to play in the third. Sorensen hit back-to-back buckets and
Lauren Arenz hit a 3-pointer to regain the nine point advantage with 2:27 left. However, the Warhawks held Stout to one field goal for the rest of the quater to trail 46-43 heading into the fourth.
Giesen scored the Blue Devils next three baskets and Syndey Brennan hit a three off of a
Sam Schaeffer steal to give Stout a 11-point lead with 5:20 left in regulation. Stout kept the double digit lead until the final 80 seconds, UWW made a last push to get within five but the Blue Devils iced the game from the free throw line to secure the 69-59 win.
For the game, Stout never trailed and shot 41.4 percent from the field and held the Warhawks to a season low 29.9 percent shooting.
Anna Mutch scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds and
Lexi Wagner added 11 points and three boards.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils advance to the WIAC Tournament Championship game against regular season champion UW-Oshkosh on Friday, Feb. 23. Tip-off from the Kolf Center in Oshkosh is set for 7 p.m. The winner will receive the conference auto bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
