Bloomington, Ill. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team fell 73-59 to Wisconsin Lutheran College Friday night in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Tournament. The game was played in the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University. The Eagles finish their season at 20-8 while the Warriors improve to 26-3. Wisconsin Lutheran advances to the second round Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Illinois Wesleyan/Webster contest. 

Wisconsin Lutheran never trailed in Friday's contest, racing out to a 8-2 lead with 16:26 left in the first half. UW-L later trailed 13-6, but went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 13-11. The Warriors followed with a 9-2 run to take a 22-13 advantage with 6:35 left in the half. 

The Warriors led 28-21 at halftime.

Wisconsin Lutheran opened the second half on a 9-2 run to lead 37-23 with 16:19 remaining and UW-L could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the game. 

Danielle Frank led UW-L Friday night with 15 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Taylor Larsonfinished with 10 points while Dana Churchill had eight points and 11 rebounds. The Eagles' Kassie Robinson added seven points while Briana Radowicz and Lindsey Litrenta each had six points. 

UW-L, making its first NCAA III Tournament appearance since 1987-88, shot 39.7% from the field Friday, including 15.8% (three-of-19) from three-point range. The Eagles shot 54.5% (six-of-11) at the free throw line.

Erika Laete led Wisconsin Lutheran with 21 points while Rachel Johnson scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Rachel Hoft added 13 points. 

The Warriors shot 43.4% from the field, including 50.0% (six-of-12) from three-point range. The team shot 87.5% (21-of-24) at the line. 

UW-L recorded its sixth 20-win season in school history this year with its 20-8 mark. The Eagles had not won 20 games in a season since 1987-88.