The women's basketball team won its eighth straight game by defeating UW-Oshkosh 71-44 in Oshkosh.

The Falcons, who came into the game ranked No. 18 by the latest D3hoops.com poll, are now 8-0 on the season.

Leading the way for UWRF was Maranda Dohrn (Lake City, MN, Lake City).  She finished with a season's best 14 points. Her ten rebounds added up for her second double double of the season.  She now has 97 rebounds in the eight games the Falcons have played thus far. "Maranda played very well," said Falcon Coach Cindy Holbrook.

Despite a slow start from both teams, the Falcons were in control for most of the game. The Falcons would not score their first field goal until Holly Riesselman's (Cottage Grove, MN, Park) jumper with 13:20 to go in the first half put the Falcons within one as UWO led 4-3.  Riesselman finished with a career high 10 points.  Her previous career high was nine against Martin Luther on Dec. 6. "We got some very good minutes from Holly today," said Holbrook.

After Riesselman's jumper, it was all Falcons, as they would build an eight-point lead going into halftime. Their largest lead was 28 with 3:31 to go in the game.

The Titans would only lead by as many as three, but that came with 13:38 to go in the first half.  After Dohrn would make a free throw shot with 5:44 to go in the first half, the Falcons would never relinquish the lead. 

The Falcons would open the second half on a 11-2 scoring run and would never look back. UWRF shot 18-24 (.750) from the field in the second half.

"This was a good road win for us," said Holbrook. "We had a balanced effort and we shot amzing in the second half."

Nikki Guhr (Muskego, WI, Muskego) added 10 points for a Falcon team that featured nine different scorers. Tess Lueders (Stillwater, MN, Stillwater) and Brittany Gregorich (Altoona, WI, Altoona) would add nine points, and Tiffany Gregorich (Altoona, WI, Altoona) eight to help the Falcons to a 2-0 start in WIAC play.

The Falcon defense was stellar, outrebounding the Titans 41-30. Led by Dohrn's 11, Alise Holst (Plainview, MN, Plainview-Elgin-Millville) would add seven rebounds and Brittany Gregorich six.

The Titans were ice cold in their shooting performance.  They were only 15-51 for 29.4 percent from field goal range.  The Falcons were much better as they shot a hot 48.9 percent, connecting on 23-47, including

Lueders would have the only three-pointer for UWRF, who as a team managed a 1-6 performance.  However, Oshkosh was not much better as they finished 2-7.

Both teams were not particularly sharp from the charity stripe.  UWRF was 24-32 for an even 75 percent. UWO was 12-22 for 54.5 percent.

With the win, the Falcons are now 8-0 overall and 2-0 in the WIAC.  Oshkosh falls to 5-3 overall.  They are 0-2 in conference play.

UWRF improves to 24-44 all time against the Titans.

Up next for the Falcons is an away contest against rival UW-Stout. The game is set to get underway at 7 p.m., on Wednesday.

The game against Stout is also the "Playing for the Cure" game in order to raise breast cancer awareness. In addition to the always-fierce action on the court between the two teams, the event will include educational displays and tables by UW-Stout and community organizations to bring awareness to the continuing battle to fight breast cancer. Fans from both teams are encouraged to wear pink to the game. Complimentary tickets for the game will be available at the Bob & Steve's BP Amoco Shops in Menomonie and River Falls.