On Jan. 31, the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse women’s basketball team defeated the Falcons of the University of Wisconsin – River Falls 56-44. With the victory, the Eagles improve their overall record to 13-7.

The Eagles held the lead throughout the entirety of the first quarter. UWL sophomore, Dani Craig made back-to-back three pointers to put the team up six points. At the close of the first quarter, UWL lead River Falls 9-5.

At the start of the second quarter, UWL senior, Elise DeNoyer sank free throw followed by a three-pointer from UWL freshman, Ava Kramer to give the Eagles an eight-point lead. However, after a couple successful baskets from the Falcons, La Crosse fell behind with one-minute remaining in the first half, ending with a score of 23-20, River Falls.

“We locked down on our defense and it really fueled our offense” noted UWL sophomore, Delaney Schoenenberger, “Our shots weren’t falling much in the first half, but we continued to have confidence that they would begin to fall the second half”.

As predicted by Schoeneberger, the shot began to fall in the second half. After two three-pointers from both Schoenenberger and Craig, UWL once again gained the lead. The Eagles continued to battle, ending the quarter with a ten-point lead and outscoring River Falls 22-9.

In the final quarter of competition, UWL compiled a total of 14 team points, however it was the Eagle’s dominant defense that prevented the Falcons from many scoring opportunities. In the end, La Crosse completed 21 turnovers and made 44 rebounds to the Falcon’s 30.

“Our team played well together on both ends of the court. We really locked in on defense communicating and moving well together. We also stayed composed and confident on offense which lead us to getting good open shots for one another” added DeNoyer.

“Our defense and rebounding was the difference in the game last night. I was very proud with how our team responded to the challenges we faced. We had three players in double figures, and Kylee Marks led us with 10 huge rebounds” noted UWL Head Coach Karen Middleton.

The Eagles next bout at home will take place on February 10 at 3pm against the Titans of the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.