The UW-Superior women's basketball team has faced tall challenges before.  But Saturday afternoon's game against UW-LaCrosse and 6-4 center Danielle Frank would provide the Yellowjackets with arguably their tallest opposition of the season.

And as it turned out, all that size proved to be too much for the Yellowjackets as Frank scored 23 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked three shots to help the Eagles claim a 73-58 win over UW-Superior at Mertz Morotorelli Gymnasium.

The Yellowjackets (8-13 overall, 2-10 WIAC) got off to a fast start, getting early baskets from Connie Urmanski (Edgar, Minn.) and Hailey Hart (Osseo, Wis.) on the way to taking an early 7-4 lead with 17:50 left in the first half.

UW-LaCrosse (17-5, 10-3) would respond over the next several minutes, getting a three-pointer from Dana Churchill along with a jumper and two free throws from Lindsey Litrenta to take an 18-15 lead with 14:00 remaining in the first half.

The Yellowjackets would retake the lead moments later as Kristen Nett (Green Bay, Wis.) connected on two free throws and a three-pointer to give UW-Superior a 20-18 edge with 12:55 left in the half.

UW-LaCrosse came right back however, getting three straight baskets from Frank along with a jumper from Taylor Larson to take a 38-31 advantage into halftime.

UW-Superior would cut the deficit early in the second half when Kailee McDonald (Cambridge, Minn.) scored on a layup, bringing the Yellowjackets to within 38-33 with 19:28 remaining in the game.

But the Eagles soon buckled down and went on an extended run,  getting five points from Kassie Robinson, four points from Frank, a three-pointer from Melissa Lang, and two points each from Litrenta and Briana Radowicz for a 54-39 cushion with 10:59 left in the contest.

The Yellowjackets would never get closer than nine points the rest of the way as Larson, Litrenta, Churchill and Frank all made key plays down the stretch, helping the Eagles stretch their lead to as many as 17 points in the final minute.

Along with Frank's 23 points and 17 rebounds, the Eagles got 12 points and 14 rebounds from Churchill.  Larson added 12 points for UW-LaCrosse as well.

The Yellowjackets were paced by Bri Davis (Hermantown, Minn.) and Kelsey Thingvold (Crystal, Minn.), who each finished with 10 points.

UW-Superior will return to action Wednesday when they host UW-Stout at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium starting at 7 p.m.