Box Score

RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The UW-River Falls women's basketball team (20-4, 11-2 WIAC) clinched a first round bye in the WIAC conference tournament with an 82-66 victory over UW-Stout.

All five Falcon starters scored in double figures, with junior forward Kate Theisen scoring 13 points in the second half to lead UWRF with 22 points on the night.

In the first quarter, the Falcons battled with the Blue Devils early with neither team leading by more than four points six minutes into the first quarter. The Falcons got seven points from Theisen in the quarter and the Falcons took an 18-13 lead into the second quarter despite UW-Stout having their first nine points come off three point shots.

The second quarter saw seven different Falcons score with six points coming from sophomore forward Taylor Karge and five points from junior guard Brynn Liljander. The Falcons led by as much as eight points in the quarter. The Blue Devils used five three pointers in the second quarter to stay within reach of the Falcons with the score 42-35 in favor of UWRF at the halftime buzzer.

At halftime, Karge led with 12 points and dished out four assists and Theisen had scored nine points.

In the third quarter, it was the Falcons who stayed on top with a 9-2 run to end the quarter and took a 10 point lead into the final quarter of play. The Falcons forced four turnovers in the frame and got six more points from Theisen to take the 57-47 lead. In the quarter, the Falcons had five different players score, and snagged six offensive rebounds.

The Falcons began to run away with the game in the fourth quarter going up by 14 points right away with four points from Theisen. The Falcons led by double-digit points for all but 28 seconds of the fourth quarter, and cruised to an 82-66 win over the Blue Devils.

Leading UW-River Falls in scoring was Theisen with 22 points on 8-14 shooting and had five rebounds. Karge finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Liljander scored 12 points on the night and also snagged six rebounds, had four assists, and swiped five steals for the Falcons. Senior Richell Mehus had 12 points along with nine rebounds, five of them being offensive and also handed out four assists. Katie Messman knocked in three shots from beyond the arc, and finished with 11 points and had three steals.

From the field the Falcons shot 29-69 (42.6 percent) and were 18-21 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line. The Falcons had just six turnovers in the game, with none coming in the first and third quarter. UWRF forced 16 turnovers, and converted those into 22 points on the night. UW-River Falls used 14 offensive rebounds and scored 17 second chance points.

The first place Falcons wrap up their regular season schedule on Saturday February 20 with a home game against UW-Oshkosh (20-4, 11-2 WIAC). The Falcons defeated the Titans earlier this season on the road 76-69, and led the game at one point by 21 points at one point in the second half.

The last WIAC regular season conference title for the Falcons was in 1988-89 when the Falcons finished 14-2 under Dennis Bloom. Regardless of Saturday's result, Head Coach Cindy Holbrook will have her highest finish in the WIAC as the Falcons coach.