The UW-Eau Claire women’s basketball team suffered their ninth loss of the season after an unsuccessful 58-51 overtime bout against UW-LaCrosse Saturday at Mitchell Hall. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Blugolds.
The Eagles 14-7 overtime run along with the 19 points they scored off of Eau Claire’s 29 turnovers ultimately allowed the team to squeak out the victory. Freshman guard Cady Roedl said a lack of care for the ball was the main reason they turned it over so much.
“It was a big problem for us,” Roedl said. “I don’t know really what it was, I just think it was a lack of urgency and just not taking care of the ball.”
But the loss isn’t to say the Blugolds played poorly. The women scored an additional eight points in the paint, had a better field goal percentage and out rebounded their opponent by 29 boards. Senior forward Sarah Bingea said while she was happy with her team’s output, big numbers don’t matter if they can’t capitalize.
“Offensively, we were crashing the boards hard and defensively, same thing,” Bingea said. “We got good position underneath. Unfortunately, a lot of times on our offensive rebounds, we couldn’t convert any scores.”
Bingea lead the team with 21 points and 14 rebounds on the night. Freshman guard Teenie Lichtfuss trailed close behind with 14 points and four rebounds of her own. LaCrosse’s Erin Levenhagen and T. Van Dusseldorp scored 16 and 13 points for their team respectively.
Despite the loss, the Blugolds still sit in third place at 4-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. LaCrosse is currently fourth at 3-6.
The Blugolds are headed into their final seven games of the season, not including the playoffs. Four of them are away.
Currently, their record on the road is 1-6. With that in mind, Roedl said the team just has to stay focused and do the smaller things to stay the course.
“In away games, we just have to come together more as a team,” Roedl said. “Coach talked about having little conversations on the court and just relaxing and playing how we play at home.”
Eau Claire will be back in action against UW-Whitewater Saturday night at Zorn Arena. The Warhawks, 13-5 overall, are currently in a three-way tie for first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
