LA CROSSE, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Women's Basketball team suffered a narrow loss against UW-La Crosse on the road, 62-56, this Wednesday, February 19.
The Falcons led by as much as seven points in the first half, but a strong shooting performance in the second half by the Eagles tilted the game in favor of UW-La Crosse. Olivia Hoerl scored a career-best 25 points in the loss.
UWRF's record fell to 13-11 overall and 5-8 in WIAC play. The game marked UWRF's final regular season road game of the season, before the Falcons close out the regular season at home against UW-Platteville this Saturday.
Olivia Hoerl scored 11 first-half points for UWRF, nine of which came in a first quarter that saw the Falcons take an early advantage. UW-River Falls led 9-2 out of the gates, before UW-La Crosse embarked on a 8-1 run. Hoerl scored a layup in the final stages of the quarter, giving UWRF a narrow 13-10 lead after one quarter.
UWRF started off strong in the second quarter, pulling ahead 19-12 with 7:55 remaining off a jumper by Karleigh Creasey. UW-La Crosse rallied back, tying the game at 23-23 with 2:22 left in the half. The Falcons and Eagles exchanged three-pointers to end the half, as the game went into the break tied at 26-26.
Both teams shot well in the third quarter, as UW-La Crosse went 8-16 (50%) and UW-River Falls went 6-13 (46.2%). The Eagles jumped out to a 35-26 lead with 7:40 to go as a 9-0 run out of halftime gave the home team an edge. The Falcons trailed 42-34 with 3:24 to go, before UWRF embarked on a 8-2 run to close the quarter, bringing River Falls within 44-42 heading into the final frame.
A layup by Hoerl right out of the gates tied the game at 44-44, but UW-La Crosse answered back with a quick 7-0 run across the following two minutes. The Falcons trailed by multiple possessions until clawing back at the 1:32 mark, as another layup by Hoerl cut the deficit to 55-53 and capped a 7-2 run. A flurry of free-throws by the Eagles saw UW-La Crosse regain a 59-53 lead with just under a minute remaining. Zoey Buchan converted a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 59-56, but the Falcons were unable to make up any more ground and ultimately fell 62-56.
Hoerl finished with a career-high 25 points off 11-19 shooting from the field and 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc — she added three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Paige Pearson led the Falcons with six rebounds and Karleigh Creasey had a game-high five assists.
The Falcons finished 22-59 (37.3%) from the field. UWRF capitalized off 24 points in the paint and 19 points off turnovers.
Up next, UW-River Falls is set to host UW-Platteville at 3 p.m. on Feb. 22. The Falcons will celebrate its senior class at the game. Tickets can be purchased here.
