Milwaukee, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – In their first game of the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament, the 12^th ranked UW-River Falls women's basketball team took down Wisconsin Lutheran 66-61.

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 66, Wisconsin Lutheran 61
Location: Recreation Complex, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF: 2-0, Wisconsin Lutheran 0-1
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• In the first quarter, UWRF took control early scoring 11 of the first 15 points of the game including five straight points by Hayley Rau including an and-one to give the Falcons the 11-4 lead.
• The Warriors would make a late run in the first quarter. Using a 13-4 run, Wisconsin Lutheran was able to take the lead into the second quarter over the Falcons.  
• River Falls would buckle down in the second quarter. After the Warriors opening bucket, the Falcons would score the next 14 points to take a 29-19 lead with 4:19 in the first half. In the 14-0 spurt, the Falcons would get buckets from four different players including five from senior Brynn Liljander.
• Wisconsin Lutheran would respond late in the quarter, scoring six straight points to cut the lead to just five points at halftime.
• Liljander would score eight points in the half on 3-7 shooting. Rau scored two points in the second quarter to score seven off the bench in the first half. Sophomore Taylor Paulsrud and junior Taylor Karge each added six to aid in the Falcons lead. The Falcons shot 13-27 (48.1 percent) from the floor in the first half despite not making a three pointer.
• In the driver's seat the Falcons would control the scoreboard in the third frame. The Falcons responded to every shot by the Warriors. Wisconsin Lutheran only scored consecutively once in the third quarter when they pulled within three points with 3:44 to go in the third quarter. UWRF would take a 51-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
• UWRF would lead by as much as 11 points early in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored the first five points of the quarter capped by a three pointer by Paulsrud.
• Facing their largest lead of the game, the Warriors responded with eight straight points via free throws. The Warriors got big stops and converted all eight of their free throws during their 11-0 run that was capped off with a three pointer by Maddie Cruz that tied the game with just 3:22 to go in the fourth.
• Paulsrud would connect on her second three of the night to break the tie and the run by Wisconsin Lutheran. Paulsrud dropped both of the Falcons two team three pointers on the night.
• After the triple, the Warriors were never able to tie the game back up or take the lead for the remainder of the game and the Falcons scored 10 of the last 15 points to capture the victory.

 
IN-DEPTH LOOK

• Liljander would lead the Falcon scoring attack with 18 points on 7-14 shooting. She added three steals for the second straight game to lead the Falcons on the defensive end as well.
• Paulsrud continued to begin her Falcon career on the right foot. She scored 13 points and was 6-6 from the charity stripe and grabbed three rebounds as well.
• Off the bench Hayley Rau and Kate Theisen scored nine points a piece and combined to shoot 7-14 from the floor to help the Falcons bench outscore the Warriors 25-17.
• Karge scored nine points as well for River Falls. She was 4-8 from the floor and collected seven rebounds and rejected two Warrior shots to lead the interior defense for UWRF.
• The Falcons shot 23-53 (43.4 percent) from the floor in the game. From the free throw line River Falls shot 18-22 (81.8 percent) including 10-11 in the second half.
• In the paint, UWRF dominated with 32 points to the Warriors eight. To add, the Falcons blocked four Warrior shots and the Falcons were not denied once in the contest.  

 
THE OPPOSITION

• The Warriors got a monster game from Jen Dowden. She scored 29 points on 6-19 shooting including 13-13 from the free throw line. She grabbed three offensive rebounds and totaled 12 on the night to register the double-double. She would add three steals and two assists in the game as well.
• Cruz would score over half of the Wisconsin Lutheran bench points with nine total. She would add five rebounds as well. Maddy Elrod would score 7 points and snag 10 rebounds, seven of them being offensive.
• As a team, the Warriors were 15-61 (24.6 percent) but connected on 24-25 (96 percent) from the free throw line, including 16-16 in the second half to keep them in the ball game late.

 
LOOKING AHEAD
River Falls will wrap up the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament tomorrow against Carthage College at 1 p.m. before traveling to Bethel on November 22^nd at 5:45. The 12^th ranked Falcons will open their last season in Karges on November 29^th at 6 p.m. against Viterbo University.