Eau Claire, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – A dry spell in the second quarter put the UW-River Falls women's basketball team down big in the first half, and ultimately could not make a comeback in the WIAC opener and fell 59-43 to UW-Eau Claire.

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 43, UW-Eau Claire 59
Location: Zorn Arena, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF: 5-7 (0-1 WIAC), UW-Eau Claire 7-5 (1-0 WIAC)
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• The Falcons scored outscored the Blugolds 19-12 in the fourth quarter, but just five and seven points in the second and third quarter dug too deep of a hole for the team to climb out of.
• The first quarter was a balanced start for both teams. UWRF and UWEC exchanged buckets early in the game, but the Falcons took an early six points with just three minutes into the game.
• Eau Claire responded with a 10-1 run in the first quarter, and held the Falcons to just three points in the final 6:57 of the quarter.
• The offensive struggles continued into the second and third quarters. The Blugolds led the Falcons 30-17 at halftime, and 49-24 at the end of the third.
• In the fourth, the Falcons offense came alive scoring 19 points. Down big, the Falcons scored nine straight points, and cut the lead down to 14, but ran out of time with the final score reading 59-43.     

 
IN-DEPTH LOOK

• Taylor Paulsrud and Taylor Karge led the way on the offensive end with 14 points each.
• Katie Messman scored six points on 3-4 shooting and collected six rebounds in the loss.  
• After a slow start, the team shot 9-21 (42.8 percent) in the second half, and 6-6 from the charity stripe.
• The Falcons and Blugolds were even in the game in points in the paint with 18.  

THE OPPOSITION

• UW-Eau Claire shot 22-53 (41.5 percent) from the floor, and shot 8-10 (80 percent) from the free throw line.
• Anna Graaskamp led the way on the offensive end with 18 points and 11 rebounds, four came on the offensive glass.  
• The rebound battle fell in favor of the Blugolds with a 37-26 advantage, 14 of the rebounds were offensive.

 
LOOKING AHEAD
UW-River Falls will continue to start their WIAC season on the road. UW-Platteville (4-8, 0-1 WIAC) will host UWRF on January 7^th at 3 p.m. The Falcons last season swept the season series with the Pioneers.