Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team earned a 64-55 over UW-Eau Claire Wednesday night at Zorn Arena.  The Eagles improve to 7-7 overall and pick up their first win in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play to move to 1-2 while the Blugolds drop to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
 
UWL snapped a five-game losing streak to UW-Eau Claire with the victory Wednesday, as head coach Karen Middleton picked up her first WIAC victory.
 
"We are very proud of our effort and focus tonight," said Middleton.  "Road wins are tough to come by, and we really had to dig in defensively in the second half and got big stops."   

 
UWL started the game Wednesday on a 13-4 run capped by a pair of Kara Selk free throws with 4:42 left in the first quarter.  UW-Eau Claire then went on a 8-0 run to cut it to 13-12 with 2:28 remaining.  UWL led 17-14 after one quarter. 
 
The Blugolds scored the first six points of the second quarter to lead 20-17 with 8:07 left, but Elise DeNoyer hit a three pointer to tie it at 20-20, and neither team led by more than two points the rest of the half.  A Haley Kroll layup for UW-Eau Clare gave them a 31-30 halftime lead. 
 
The third quarter started with a 7-0 run from UW-Eau Claire, giving them their biggest lead of the game at 38-30 with 6:08 left in the period.  The Eagles outscored the Blugolds 12-6 the rest of the quarter, including hitting on eight-of-eight at the free throw line to cut the lead to 44-42 going into the fourth quarter.
 
UWL started the fourth on an 11-2 run, and led 53-46 after a MaKenzie Miller jumper with 3:34 left to play.  UW-Eau Claire cut it to four points at 53-49 with 3:08 left, but the Eagles converted on 11-of-12 free throws in the final minutes to hold on for the 64-55 victory. 
 
UWL shot 30.6% from the field, including 25.0% (five-of-20) from three-point range, and 90.6% (29-of-32) at the free throw line.  The 29 free throws made was a season high, and the Eagles hit 23-of-24 from the line in the second half.   Alyssa Clemment led UWL with a career-high 17 points.  She also added nine rebounds, also a career-high.  Miller recorded her second double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Annie Schumacher, Rachel Atchison, and Clemment each had a pair of assists in the win.   
 
UW-Eau Claire shot 36.5% from the field, including 23.8% (five-of-21) from three-point range and 63.2% (12-of-19) at the line.  Maddie Dunathan and Alleah Voigt had 12 points each for the Blugolds.  Arien Brennan added seven rebounds. 
 
"We had a lot of players step up and make key plays throughout," added Middleton.  "I can't be more proud.  Now we have to keep that focus and continue to improve." 
 
UWL returns to action Saturday, January 14 hosting UW-Stout at 3 p.m.