MENOMONIE (January 28, 2015) - Brea Boomer (Sr, Grand Portage, Minn) hit a shot with 1-minute, 5-seconds remaining in the game to break a tie and UW-Stout kept UW-Eau Claire scoreless the rest of the way as the Blue Devils defeated the Blugolds, 61-59, Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Eau Claire (11-7, 6-3 WIAC) came into Johnson Fieldhouse on a five game winning streak, not having lost a game since the calendar turned to 2015, and had a chance to climb up to second place in the WIAC.

And it initially looked like Eau Claire was going to run roughshod over Stout (6-13, 4-6 WIAC), jumping out to a quick 6-0 start and not missing a shot or a free throw over the first two mintues of the game.

But Stout climbed back into the game as Jenna Goldsmith(St. Anthony, Minn), Katelynne Folkers (Sr, Fall Creek) and Kyleigh Hebert (Jr, Spencer) put the Blue Devils out to 13-6 lead at 15:42 as Stout went on a 13-0 run. Goldsmith coined six points in the run, Hebert five and Folkers a basket.

Goldsmith would go on to score11 first half points as the Blue Devils took a 32-28 lead into the locker room, but not before Eau Claire cut into as much as a nine point Stout lead and tied the game at 24-24 with four minutes remaining in the half. 

Stout's Becca Smith (So, Victoria, Minn) drained a 3-pointer and McKayla Brunner (So, Elmwood) followed up with a bucket to gie Stout a 29-24 lead with just under two minutes remaining. The Blugolds' Courtney Lewis cut the lead to 29-26, but Haley Froehlich (Sr, Mondovi) answered for the Blue Devils with a 3-pointer. Eau Claire closed out the first half scoring on a basket by Arien Becker.

Eau Claire came out ot the locker room firing. Teenie Lichtfuss hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 32-31 and the Blugolds took the lead on a layup by Rachel Egdorf.

Eau Claire carried the lead until the nine minute mark when Goldsmith pulled Stout to within a point, 44-43, and Sarah Schoch (So, Chippewa Falls) hit a 3-pointer at 8:50 to give Stout a 46-44 lead, a lead they would not give up the rest of the way, although Madison Johnson pulled Eau Claire to within 57-55 at 3:01 and Lichtfuss tied the score at 2:10.

Folkers drained a pair of free throws to lift Stout to a 59-57 lead. Johnson knotted the score at 1:29 and Boomer's bucket underneath gave Stout the tenuous 61-59 lead with just over a minute remaining.

Hebert picked the Blugolds' pocket, but Stout could not deliver a knockout punch. Two missed Blugold shots in the final seconds spelled the end.

Goldsmith finished the night with 13 points and Hebert had 11 points, along with a game-high five assists. Folkers pulled down 10 rebounds and finished with four points. Boomer added six points. Smith added eight points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws.

Stout shot 37.7 percent (23-61) for the night, while Eau Claire shot 39.1 percent (25-64) from the floor. The Blugolds were led by Lichtfuss' game-high 20 points. Johnson contributed 12 points.

Stout will host UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m., then will travel to UW-La Crosse, Wednesday, Feb. 4.