RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons held close with UW-Stout for three of the four quarters on Thursday night, but a 23-3 advantage for the Blue Devils in the second quarter proved to be the difference maker in a 76-55 win for UW-Stout. UW-River Falls dropped to 7-13 overall and 1-8 in the WIAC with the loss.

The Blue Devils started off the game with a layup from Kyncaide Diedrich, but Jenna Zeman responded with a layup and a three-pointer to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead. Diedrich scored the team's first 11 points to go up 11-7, but a three-pointer from Tessa Hubbard cut the lead to 13-10. The Falcons began the game 2-4 from beyond the arc, but they only managed to go 1-16 on three-pointers for the rest of the game. Free throws from Madelyn O'Brien and Hubbard tied the game up at 14-14, but a jumper from Shannan Watkins gave the Blue Devils a 16-14 lead after the first quarter. 

O'Brien made a layup less than a minute into the second quarter to tie the game at 16-16. UWRF was held to only one point the rest of the quarter and went scoreless for the final seven minutes. The rest of the Blue Devils began to take the scoring load off of Diedrich and closed the half with a three-pointer from Liz Ozwald to go up 39-17 at halftime. 

Taylor Paulsrud and Brianna Koop took over in the second half, combining for 28 of the team's 38 points and going 10-16 from the field. Koop made seven of her eight free throws, and the Falcons outscored the Blue Devils in the second half. However, it wasn't enough to overcome the first half deficit and they eventually fell by 21 points. Diedrich finished with a game-high 18 points, and Amber Fabeck and Oswald added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Paulsrud finished with 15 points and Koop with 13 points, all of them coming in the second half. Crystal Pearson led the Falcons with five rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

The Falcons will next face seventh place UW-Stevens Point on Saturday at Page Arena. Tip off is set for 3 p.m.