GORHAM, Maine (December 30, 2011) - UW-Stout held Babson College's leading scorer to only half her season average and forced 12 first half turnovers, but the young Blue Devils eventually succombed to the 16th ranked Beavers, 72-52, in the opening game of the Southern Maine University Holiday Tournament, Friday.

The Beavers (8-1), who went 30-1 last season and went deep into the 2011 NCAA Division III playoffs, returned the nucleus of a three pronged offense. The Blue Devils (3-9) held Nicki Wurdeman to 11 points, nearly half of her 20 point season average. But the other two points of the Beavers' trifecta answered the call. Kathleen King scored a game-high 20 points and Sarah Collins added 18.  And Wurdeman was still heard from, pulling down 10 rebounds, while King had 15 rebounds.

The Blue Devils stayed relatively even with Babson early in the game. After the Beavers took a 14-3 lead at the 13 minute mark of the first half, Stout shut down Babson for the next three minutes, and pulled to four points, 14-10, before they built up a double-digit lead and held that the rest of the game.

Stout did force 12 first half Babson turnovers, with Kayla Windt (Jr, Pence) snagging three steals, and Whitney Rawdon (Jr, Eau Claire) with a pair of thefts. Babson finished the game with 16 turnovers.

Windt finished with 10 points for the Blue Devils, all coming in the first half. Rawdon finished the day with nine points, seven in the second half. Freshman Bethany Reyzer (Altoona) led Stout with 14 points, connecting on 4-of-5 three-pointers. Sami Schoeder (So, Durand) and Alyse Kaml (Fr, Brooklyn Park, Minn) led Stout off the boards with seven rebounds apiece.

Babson held a 52-40 advantage off the glass. Stout shot 21.4 percent (15-70) from the floor, while Babson cleared 47.5 percent (29-61) from the floor. The Blue Devils shot their best percentage from the free throw line in a single game since the 2007-08 season, hitting 87.5 percent (14-16).

Stout will play either Southern Maine or Massachussets College of Liberal Arts, Saturday, Dec. 31 at noon, central time.