MENOMONIE, Wis. – UW-Stout put together one of its most complete performances of the season Wednesday night, using a dominant second quarter and steady defensive pressure to defeat UW-River Falls, 69-54, at Johnson Fieldhouse.
River Falls, receiving votes in the national poll, kept things tight early, but the Blue Devils seized control midway through the first half and never relinquished it, leading for over 30 minutes of game time.
Stout (12-12, 3-10 WIAC) shot 58.3 percent in the opening quarter to build early rhythm and carried that efficiency into a decisive second period.
After River Falls trimmed the margin to five early in the second, Maraya Wiltrout changed the momentum at the 8:58 mark. Wiltrout jumped a passing lane for a steal and finished a fast-break layup at 8:53 to push the lead to 21-14. The Falcons answered at the free throw line, but Stout responded immediately with execution out of a baseline inbounds set. Mary Berg delivered a perfectly timed pass from under the Falcon basket to Rosella Wille cutting backdoor for a layup at 8:05, extending the lead to 23-16. Moments later, Stout's defense forced another stop, and Addy Verhagen buried a three-pointer off a feed from Eleice Dahl at 7:33, pushing the lead to 26-16 and forcing a River Falls timeout.
The Blue Devils continued to stretch the margin behind crisp ball movement. At 2:04, Molly Bills knocked down a three off a Wille assist to make it 38-23. In the closing seconds of the half, Julia Rybacki drained a three-pointer with 0:38 remaining to send Stout into the locker room with a commanding 41-25 lead.
The third quarter belonged to Rybacki and the Stout defense. With 7:15 left in the period, Brooklynn Birt swatted away a Falcon attempt in the paint, one of four Blue Devil blocks on the night, helping prevent any River Falls momentum. Then at 5:03, Rybacki finished through contact on a cut to the rim off a well-timed pass from Verhagen, converting the and-one to stretch the lead to 54-29.
Rybacki was nearly flawless, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in just 15 minutes of action, continuing her strong second half of the season with an efficient and timely performance.
River Falls made a late push in the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit to 13, but Stout closed the game on a high note. In the final minute, Jordyn Derlein threaded a beautiful pass to Molly Garber cutting along the baseline, and Garber finished the layup with 0:11 remaining to seal the 15-point victory.
By The Numbers
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19 – Julia Rybacki scored 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting in just 15 minutes.
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43.3% – Stout shot 43.3 percent from the field, including 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from three.
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64.3% – The Blue Devils shot 9-of-14 in the second quarter, their most efficient period.
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33 – Stout bench points, highlighted by Rybacki's 19.
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15 – Points off turnovers for Stout, compared to 12 for River Falls.
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39-35 – Rebounding edge for the Blue Devils.
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4 – Blocks by Stout, anchoring a defensive effort that held the Falcons to 32.7 percent shooting and just 17.4 percent from three (4-of-23).
Addy Verhagen added 15 points with four three-pointers, while Maraya Wiltrout scored 10 points and sparked multiple transition opportunities. Rosella Wille contributed six assists and eight rebounds to go along with strong interior defense.
Up Next
The Blue Devils will close out the regular season Saturday afternoon when they host #22 UW-Platteville at Johnson Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. in Menomonie.
