Box Score

RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The UW- River Falls women's basketball team (12-2, 3-0 WIAC) shot 13-19 (68.4 percent) in the first half against the sixth ranked UW- Whitewater Warhawks and coasted to a 78-65 victory at home to move to 3-0 in the WIAC for the first time since 2011-2012.

The Falcons came out and took control early with a 15-4 run to start the game. The Falcons outscored the Warhawks 23-13 in the first quarter with junior forward junior guard Brynn Liljander scored 10 points in the first quarter alone on 4-4 shooting.

In the second quarter, the Falcons once again scored 23 points and held Whitewater to 17 points and Kate Theisen hit a shot right at the end of the second quarter to take a 16 point lead into halftime. Liljander had 14 points at halftime with three of her shots coming from beyond the arc. Richell Mehus scored eight points and had four assists and four steals in the first half. Taylor Karge also had seven in the first half on 2-3 shooting. The Falcons shot 13-19 (68.4 percent) from the floor and 17-20 (85 percent) in the first half alone from the charity stripe. Whitewater shot 10-31 (32.3 percent) in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Falcons came back down to earth offensively and Whitewater outscored the Falcons 15-12 in the third quarter of play and trimmed the lead to 13 points going into the fourth quarter. The Falcons lead did grow to the game high which was a 19 point lead with 7:15 to go in the third.

The Warhawks scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to trim the lead to just eight points, but the Falcons came alive offensively and held off the Warhawks and won 78-65 at the buzzer.

In the second half, Theisen scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting and 4-6 from the free throw line. Mehus scored eight points in the second half on 3-4 shooting. The Falcons shot 12-26 (46.2 percent) from the floor in the second half, and 8-13 (61.5 percent) from the charity stripe.

For the game, UWRF shot 25.45 (55.6 percent) from the floor and 25-33 (75.8 percent) from the free throw line. Theisen scored 22 points on the night and added six rebounds. Mehus scored 16 points on 6-7 shooting and had six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Liljander finished with 14 points, and Taylor Karge scored 12 points on 4-6 shooting to give the Falcons four players in double figures scoring.

Taylor Augustine scored seven points, Ali Clark and Hayley Rau scored three points each off the bench.

UWRF dominated the points in the paint on the night 38-18 while also holding strong on the glass with 38 rebounds to the Warhawks 28.

UW- River Falls led the game all but 37 seconds of the contest, with the only Warhawk lead being 2-0 at 9:23 in the first quarter. The Falcons defeated the Warhawks for the first time since 2011, and eight straight losses. The win moves Falcons to 12-2 overall, and 3-0 in the WIAC and in sole possession of first place in the WIAC.

Next up for the women's basketball team is a home contest against UW- Eau Claire on January 16 at 3 p.m. The Blugolds hold the all-time series lead 54-33. The Falcons were swept by the Blugolds last season.