MENOMONIE (January 23, 2013) - UW-Stout pushed UW-River Falls to overtime, Wednesday night, but a sluggish five minutes of bonus play led to a 73-65 loss at Johnson Fieldhouse.
Stout (8-11, 2-8 WIAC) committed 10 fouls in the overtime period, allowing River Falls (10-9, 4-6 WIAC) to shoot 18 free throws, of which they made 12. The Blue Devils shot 2-of-9 from the field in the overtime period, which they lost, 14-6.
The Blue Devils controlled the early stages of the game as they ran out to a 13-5 lead, midway through the first half. Brea Boomer (So, Grand Portage, Minn.) sparked the run with four straight points and Katie Nickles (So, Braham, Minn.) hit a three to stretch the lead to eight.
After River Falls cut the lead to five, Stout unleashed a 9-0 run to push their lead to 14 points, their largest of the night. Kyleigh Hebert (Fr, Spencer) scored the last four points of the run, which made the score 22-8 with five minutes to play in the half.
Over the game's first 15 minutes, Stout held River Falls to just 2-of-18 from the floor, including 0-of-7 from beyond the arc. But the Falcons nearly erased their deficit by halftime, going on a 14-1 run over the half's final four minutes to make it a 23-22 Stout halftime lead.
The second half started just the opposite of the first, as River Falls took control of the game. They came out of the locker rooms hot, and grabbed a six point lead just over a minute into the half to cap off a 23-3 run, dating back to the first half. By the midway point of the second half, the Falcons had increased their lead to 10 points, 45-35.
But Stout battled back. A 12-3 Blue Devil run made it a one-point game with five minutes remaining, and from then on, it was back-and-forth. Within the final five minutes of regulation, there were 10 lead changes and seven ties. Stout got the last possession of regulation, but a missed free throw with three seconds remaining sent the game to overtime.
Stout never led during the overtime period as they dropped their fifth straight game of the season and their sixth straight to the Falcons.
Shelby Sterba (So, Tony) led the Blue Devils with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Katelynne Folkers (So, Fall Creek) chipped in 12 on 4-of-9 shooting.
For the Falcons, Brittany Gregorich recorded her conference-best seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Teammate Richell Mehus also scored 15 points and dished out a game-high four assists. Three Falcons attempted 10 or more free throws as they shot 31-of-47 from the line as a team.
Stout has a conference bye this weekend, and will return to action next Wednesday, Jan. 30, with a road game against UW-Superior.