UW-Superior women's basketball coach Don Mulhern figured his team would face a stiff challenge in the UW-LaCrosse Eagles Saturday afternoon.

After all, the Eagles were playing their final game of the 2012-2013 season before a boisterous home crowd while hoping to send their senior duo of Briana Radowicz and Trisha Van Dusseldorp out as winners.

And as it turned out, the Eagles did just that, getting a game-high 21 points from Van Dusseldorp and a game-changing three-pointer from Radowicz in the final 37 seconds on the way to downing the Yellowjackets 60-55 at Mitchell Hall.

The loss came despite an inspired second half in which the Yellowjackets rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit before taking a 51-50 lead on a Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) free throw with 3:45 left in regulation.

But Erin Levenhagen connected on a three-pointer on the next possession to give the Eagles a 53-51 lead with 3:12 left and the Yellowjackets never led again in concluding the regular season 18-7 overall and 10-6 in WIAC play.

The Eagles dominated in the early going, taking advantage of five offensive rebounds in the opening minutes to take a 16-6 lead on a Radowicz three-pointer with 12:59 left in the first half.

A layup by Vanessa Lebens (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) helped key a UW-Superior run as two baskets by Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) and a three-point shot by Linzmeier brought the Yellowjackets to within 20-17 with 4:34 left in the opening half.

But Van Dusseldorp hit a three-pointer of her own on the next possession and additional baskets by Alyssa Clemment and Radowicz helped propel UW-LaCrosse to a 34-21 halftime advantage.

The Eagles continued to hold a double-digit lead for the first 11:12 of the second half as Lebens' second inside basket of the game cut the deficit to 48-37 with 8:48 showing on the clock.

Five straight points from Connie Urmanski (Edgar, Wis./Edgar) and a pair of three-point plays from Linzmeier and Kristen Nett (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) evened matters 50-50 with 4:23 remaining in regulation.

Linzmeier's free throw made it 51-50 before Levenhagen's three gave the Eagles a 53-51 lead.

From there, the two teams traded baskets, resulting in a 55-55 draw with 1:05 left after two free throws by Linzmeier.

Radowicz's three-pointer with 37 seconds left gave the Eagles the lead for good however at 58-55.  Clemment then connected on two free throws in the final four seconds to seal the victory.

Linzmeier led the Yellowjackets with 19 points while Urmanski pitched in with 15.

Along with Van Dusseldorp's 21 points, Maggi Bishop and Levenhagen each had 11 while Radowicz finished with 10.

Milestone Update: Urmanski broke the school's all-time record for games played, appearning in her 101st game, breaking the record previously set by Kelsey Thingvold (2007-11). Kailee McDonald (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) moved into a tie for third on the games played list with 98. Hillary Peterson (Sturgeon Lake, Minn./Moose Lake) entered the top-ten for all-time games played by appearing in her 93rd.

The Yellowjackets host UW-River Falls Wednesday in a first round WIAC Conference Tournament game.  Opening tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.  The game can be heard locally on 91.3 FM KUWS.  Matt Johnson will have the call.