EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The 16th-ranked UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team took down UW-Oshkosh at Zorn Arena tonight, 68-49.
The Blugolds took the opening lead and never looked back. It took over two minutes for Oshkosh to score as the Blugolds started with a 5-0 lead.
After the Titans' opening basket, the Blugolds went on a 12-0 run to build a 15-point lead six minutes into the game. Two minutes later, Oshkosh closed to within eight, but that was the closest the Titans would get as the Blugolds maintained a double-digit lead the final 30 minutes of the game.
After leading by 13 points at halftime (34-21) the Blugolds found their way to a 19-point lead by the end of the game.
Callie Halama (Sr.-Independence, Wis.) finished the game with a double-double, her sixth of the year, pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds while scoring 16 points.
Leading the Blugolds in scoring was Nicole Christianson (Sr.-Chetek, Wis.) with 20 points.Ellen Plendl (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell) added 18 while also coming away with nine rebounds.
The Blugolds held the rebounding advantage 34-28 and committed only 10 turnovers, their second-lowest total this season. The Titans converted the 10 turnovers into 10 points while the Blugolds had 21 points off 17 Oshkosh turnovers. Eau Claire also led in field goal percentage, 48.3 percent (28-for-58) to 36.2 percent (17-for-47).
Eau Claire improves to 17-4 overall and 10-2 in the WIAC to remain tied with UW-Stevens Point for first place in the league. Oshkosh drops to 7-13 on the season and 1-10 in conference play.
Saturday, the Blugolds will host 24th-ranked UW-River Falls as part of a doubleheader with the men. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and the men's game will follow.
-KM-