RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls came out on top against WIAC contender UW-Whitewater 59-52 on Saturday afternoon at Page Arena. The Falcons held the Warhawks to only eight points in the fourth quarter, more than doubling their output with 17 fourth-quarter points to bring home their third consecutive victory after starting 1-10 in conference play. Four different players scored in double figures for the Falcons, with Jenna Zeman and Taylor Paulsrud leading with 12 apiece, and Lori Wardynski and Brianna Leahy each added 11 points off the bench. 

The Warhawks took an early 10-6 lead after Emily Schumacher knocked down a 3-pointer to score seven of the team's first 10 points. She would only finish with nine points and wouldn't score again until the final minute of the game. A layup from Becky Raeder put UW-Whitewater up 16-10 after the first quarter, and the Falcons failed to make a shot in the last four minutes. Tessa Hubbard and Paulsrud both made shots from beyond the arc to begin the second quarter, and a pair of free throws from Wardynski came before a 3-pointer from Brianna Koop to make it a two-point game at 23-21.

Wardynski finished off a layup to tie the game up at 23-23 on her only made basket of the night. She may have struggled from the field by going 1-11, but she made up for it with a 9-10 performance at the free throw line. Olivia Freckmann put them back up by two points with under two minutes remaining, but Zeman and Leahy contributed to a 6-0 run that gave the Falcons a 29-25 halftime lead. UWRF was only 32 percent from the field in the first half, but they were more efficient from beyond the arc at 50 percent on six attempts.

Paulsrud drilled a 3-pointer to open up the half, and Anna Rollag also knocked one down to keep the lead at six points after the Warhawks made their first three field goals of the half. UW-Whitewater went on an 8-0 run over the next four minutes to retake the lead at 39-37, but Leahy made a 3-pointer two minutes later to put the Falcons back ahead 42-40. The Warhawks entered the fourth quarter ahead 44-42, but Zeman buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to go back ahead. UWRF had one of their best 3-point shooting performances of the season by going 7-14 from beyond the arc. There was an almost three-minute stretch where neither team scored after Paulsrud made a jumper to lead 49-48 with under seven minutes remaining. The Falcons only gave up four points the rest of the game, and they made eight of their 10 free throws in the final four minutes to clinch a seven-point victory over a Whitewater team that beat them by almost 30 points earlier this year.

UWRF wraps up their regular season with a 4-10 record in the WIAC and 10-15 overall. Zeman led the team with 10.7 points per game, followed closely by Paulsrud with 10.4. Leahy led in rebounds with 6.7 per game, and she also led the conference in blocks with 38 overall, which was the sixth-most in a season in UWRF history. The team will lose seniors Paulsrud, Rollag and Madelyn O'Brien for next season.