Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team was defeated by No. 19 UW-Stout with a score of 73-60 in a rivalry game on Wednesday at the Sonnentag Event Center. The Blue Devils established an early lead, and despite efforts from the Blugolds to rally in the second half, they could not close the gap.

UW-Stout (16-4, 7-2) ended the first quarter with a 13-4 run after an evenly matched start. This left UW-Eau Claire (7-13, 2-7) trailing 22-13 at the end of the first quarter. A decisive 10-0 run by UW-Stout midway through the second quarter extended their lead to 19 points, leading to a halftime score of 45-25.

In the third quarter, UW-Eau Claire began to reduce their deficit. Kyla Overskei's four consecutive points initiated an 8-0 run that narrowed UW-Stout's lead to 11 points at 50-39. The Blugolds continued their efforts throughout the period but entered the fourth quarter down by twelve points at 55-43.

During the final quarter, UW-Eau Claire was unable to get closer than an eleven-point margin. The Blue Devils outscored them by one point in this period, concluding with an overall score of 18-17 for that quarter.

Overskei led her team with nineteen points and six rebounds, while Reanna Hutchinson contributed ten points for UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds had a shooting percentage of forty-three percent compared to fifty-one percent for UW-Stout and held a slight advantage in rebounds with thirty-one compared to twenty-seven for their opponents. The game saw a total of forty-two turnovers between both teams.

Looking ahead, UW-Eau Claire will play against UW-La Crosse on Saturday, February 8th as part of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) competition. The match is set to begin at three p.m.

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