The Eagles fell 77-68 to the Dubuque (Iowa) Spartans at Mitchell Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Both teams struggled shooting the ball in the first half with UW-La Crosse shooting just 25% (11-44) from the field and Dubuque was just 31.4% (11-35). The Eagles were able to get off to a fast start and led 11-2 in the opening minutes paced by 6 points from Maggi Bishop, the fast start would not last long as the Spartans fought back behind Braana Steen and Abbey Meyer’s 5 points, were able to cut La Crosse’s lead by the end of the first quarter to 3 with a score of 15-12. Spartans tied it up at 17 to begin the second quarter but Cameron Chapin’s 3 point play broke the tie to regain the lead, however that lead was short lived as a Kara Enos jumper gave Dubuque their first lead of the game at 25-24. And with a 3 pointer from Steen the Spartans took a 28-26 lead into halftime. Bishop led the Eagles with 8 points, while Steen led the Spartans with 10 points. Both teams came out of the half shooting the ball much better, as the Spartans led 35-33 with 8:33 left in the third quarter. But behind a couple of Allison Biermeier 3’s the Spartans went on a 19-6 run that was capped off by another 3 pointer by Braana Steen to push the lead to 54-39. The Eagles with an inspired defensive effort responded with forcing turnover enroot to a 9-0 run that ended with a Sierra Watrud layup to cut into the Spartan lead 54-48. An Emily Brinker free throw made it a 55-48 Spartan lead heading into the 4th quarter. To open up the final frame Rachel Atchison nailed a 3-pointer to breathe life into the Eagles and brought the Spartans lead down to 4. But once again Dubuque answered with a Steen layup and a Brinker 3 which pushed the lead back up to 10 and made it 63-53. La Crosse refused to give up as Kara Selk’s only bucket of the game brought it to 67-62 and Jenna Anderson’s steal and layup pulled the game to within 2 with 2:14 time remaining. But this would be as close as the Eagles would get, as the Spartans were able to ice it by making their free throws and scoring 9 of the last 11 points in the game. The Eagles were led by Rachel Atchison who scored a team-high 15 points, Maggi Bishop finished with her 5th career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Eagles outrebounded the Spartans 65-38, including 36 offensive rebounds and attempted 93 shots. But the Eagles couldn’t capitalize on the extra shots and only shot 31.2% (29-93) from the field. Braana Steen’s 22 points and Emily Brinker’s 18 points and 7 rebounds led the Spartans. The loss gives the Eagles a 3-4 record while the Spartans improved to 2-3 on the year.