River Falls, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – The UW-River Falls women's basketball team hosted conference rival UW-Stevens Point at Page Arena Saturday afternoon. The Falcons used a balanced attack early to take a 35-26 halftime lead. The Pointers used a huge third quarter to cut the Falcon lead to three and a big run to start the 4th quarter to push their lead to 10 with just over five minutes left in the game. UWRF eventually made a furious comeback, outscoring the Pointers 12-4 in the last five minutes of the game.
Taylor Karge hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to tie the game at 70 before the Pointers hit a last second shot to down the Falcons, 72-70.
THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 70, UW-Stevens Point: 72
Location: Page Arena, River Falls, Wisconsin
Record: UW-River Falls: 14-7, 5-5 WIAC, UW-Stevens Point 10-11, 4-6 WIAC
WHAT HAPPENED
- The Falcons came out strong in the first quarter. The Falcons went on a 13-2 run in the final 5:40 of the quarter to take a 22-11 lead into the second quarter. Jaycie Gerding scored 4 points and Anna Rollag scored 5 to lead the Falcons in the first quarter.
- The second quarter saw the Falcons stretch their lead to as many as 17. Brynn Liljander hit a 3-pointer with just over four minutes left in the quarter to put the Falcons up 32-15. Liljander scored 7 points for the Falcons in the quarter.
- The Pointers went on an 11-3 run to end the quarter and cut the Falcon lead to 9 at 35-26 at halftime.
- The third quarter began with both teams trading buckets, with the Falcons pushing their lead all the way up to 10, when they led 43-33 at the 5:56 mark of the quarter.
- The Pointers used a 7-0 run to cut the Falcon lead to 43-40, but UWRF would answer with a quick run of their own and push their lead back to 8 at the 3:36 mark of the third quarter.
- The fourth quarter was a back and forth battle with each team going on big runs. The Pointers started out the fourth quarter with the first big run, outscoring the Falcons 18-8 during a stretch that gave the Pointers a 10-point lead with just over five minutes left in the quarter.
- UWRF managed to get back in the game in the last 5 minutes, out-scoring the Pointers 12-4, eventually tying the game at 70 with a pair of Taylor Karge free throws with seven seconds left.
- The tie didn't last long, as the Pointers raced down the court and Mickey Roland hit the game winner with just two seconds left on the clock.
IN-DEPTH LOOK
- Brynn Liljander scored 17 points to lead the Falcons, including 2 for 4 from behind the 3-point arc.
- Taylor Karge just missed adding a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Crystal Pearson added 14 points for the Falcons.
- The Falcons shot 46% from the field and 33.3% from 3-point range.
THE OPPOSITION
- Carly Cerrato lead the Pointers with 23 points including 12 points from behind the 3-point arc.
- Taylor Barrett added 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Pointers.
- To go along with the game winning basket, Mickey Roland record a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Falcons are back home on Wednesday Feb. 7, on National Girls & Women in Sports Day to host UW-Stout. Tip time is at 7pm in Page Arena.
