Alise Holst (Plainview, MN, Plainview-Elgin-Millville) took care of the scoring and Maranda Dohrn (Lake City, MN, Lake City) was there to clean up the glass as the women's basketball team picked up a huge WIAC win on the road in La Crosse by defeating UWL 56-47.  The Falcons beat the Eagles in a crucial matchup as both teams came into the game tied with a 4-1 record in the WIAC.
 
Holst, a senior forward, poured in a game-high 20 points, more than double the points of any other Falcon.  She was just shy of matching her career best of 21, which came in a Falcon victory over Simpson College on Nov. 18, 2011.
 
No one on either team came even close to matching Dohrn's 16 rebounds.  As a team, the Falcons had 34. Tess Lueders (Stillwater, MN, Stillwater) was next on the team with four boards on the night.  UWL did outrebound the Falcons, but only by a 36-34 margin.  Dohrn now has 185 rebounds throughout the first 15 games of the season for a 12.3 average per game.  The senior now has 808 rebounds for her career.
 
Dohrn also had four of the team's 11 steals in a game in which the Falcon defense forced 24 turnovers while only committing 17 of their own.
 
 Dohrn and Tiffany Gregorich (Altoona, WI, Altoona) each had nine points and Brittany Gregorich (Altoona, WI, Altoona) eight to pace a balanced UWRF team that led by 13, their largest lead of the game, with 3:57 remaining in the game. UWL's largest lead was five, which came with 13:04 remaining in the first half.  T. Gregorich had four assists to help spread the ball around.
 
The Falcons also shot a season's best 84.6 percent from the free throw line, converting 11-13.  Holst led the way for UWRF, who is now 13-2 overall, by connecting on 6-7 from the line. UWL on the other hand, was only 13-24 from the charity stripe for a meager 54.2 percent. UWL did manage to block 11 Falcon shots, compared to the Falcons who only had two. However, a strong shooting performance helped UWRF pull away late in the game.
 
UWRF shot a steady 37.5 percent from the field, converting 21-56.  UWL shot 15-43 for 34.9 percent.  UWRF was also better from three-point range as they connected on 3-9 for 33.3 percent.  The Eagles shot 25 percent while draining 4-16.
 
"This was a big road win for us," said Falcon Head Coach Cindy Holbrook. "Balanced scoring was really key for us, although we do need to do better on the boards.  But we did get some big team stops when we needed them."

UWRF came into the game ranked No. 17 in the latest d3hoops.com poll.  UWL, while not ranked in the top 25, did receive votes.
 
With the win, the Falcons improve to 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the WIAC.  They are also 7-1 on the road and snap a four-game losing streak to UWL.  The Eagles meanwhile, fall to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the WIAC.
 
UWRF now holds a 33-31 advantage in the all time matchups between the two schools.
 
The Falcons will return to the Karges Center, a place where they will try to defend their 4-0 home record, in their next contest against UW-Eau Claire.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.  The Falcons are 29-50 all time against the Blugolds.
 
Box Score