By Justin Harings Leader-Telegram staff

http://www.leadertelegram.com/sports/local_college/article_afe59f3a-667a-5b09-9fbf-5ad7ee0f3c95.html?success

The sophomore guard and top-five scorer in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference shot 10-for-12 from the field, hit six of her eight 3-pointers and single-handedly forced the Blugolds to abandon their 2-3 zone defense.

“Nothing that they did was a surprise,” Blugolds coach Tonja Englund said. “We knew where those shots were going to come from and who was going to shoot them.”

It didn’t matter one bit.

Gregorich, who scored 20 points in 18 first-half minutes, led the Falcons on a night in which they shot 58.5 percent (31 of 53) from the floor as a team. That number came down only slightly from 63 percent (17 of 27) at halftime.

“Whoever comes out and shoots 60 percent in this league’s going to win a basketball game,” Falcons coach Cindy Holbrook said. “But we don’t usually shoot that well.”

After establishing position as a contender in the WIAC, UW-River Falls (16-4, 8-4) had lost four of its past six games entering Wednesday. The Falcons cut enough holes in the Blugolds’ defense to fix that and win at Zorn Arena for the first time since Jan. 19, 2005.

“Our defense just really let us down tonight,” said Blugolds center Hannah Mesick, who equaled her season average with 18 points. “Giving up 45 points isn’t really our style in a half. It’s a really disappointing loss from that aspect.”

Chippewa Falls McDonell graduate Jess Freagon scored 12 points off the bench for UW-Eau Claire (7-13, 6-5), which remained in position to make the conference tournament and challenge for a home game.

To make that happen, the Blugolds surely will have to finish more consistently on offense and execute more efficiently on defense.

“For this to happen in February, I feel like, is unacceptable for us,” Englund said. “February’s when we’re supposed to play our best basketball.”

The Blugolds did commit 22 fewer turnovers than they did in their 11-point loss to the Falcons in December. To dull that improvement, they were beaten soundly in the paint – where they should have had an unmistakable advantage. And they were forced into a less-familiar man-to-man defense in the second half because they couldn’t close out on the Falcons’ perimeter shooters early.

“It’s our team staying focused and playing to a game plan,” Englund said. “And that has been an inconsistency for us this year that shouldn’t happen in February – absolutely should not happen in February.”

Feb. 2 , 2010

Tiffany Gregorich scored a career-high 30 points at UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday night, helping lead the Falcons to an 83-62 victory over the Blugolds.

Gregorich had 20 of her 30 points at the end of the first half. She shot 10-12 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line. In addition, Gregorich went 6-8 from the behind the arc, putting her in possession of the third most three pointers made in a single in UWRF women’s basketball history. She also had five rebounds and three steals.

The Blugolds led only once, off a free throw by Ellen Plendl to put the first points on the board for either team. But after 30 seconds had gone by, the Falcons were ahead, never to trail again.

With 6:20 remaining in the game, Hannah Mesick completed a three-point play for UWEC, and the Falcon lead was cut to ten. The Falcons went on a 9-0 run, not allowing the Blugolds to score a single point for over two minutes, bulking the UWRF lead to 19 with 4:02 remaining.

Mesick went on to score a total of 18 points for Eau Claire, and Jess Freagon chipped in 12. Plendl led all players with 10 rebounds and two blocks.

In addition to Tiffany’s performance, Brittany Gregorich chipped in 10 points, seven boards and a block. Katie Theisen had nine points, and Kelli Hilt and Tess Lardie each recorded seven points of their own. Maranda Dohrn managed to rip down seven rebounds as well. Nikki Guhr tied with Tiffany to lead all players with three steals.

As a team, UWRF shot 31-53 (.585) from the field, 9-17 (.529) from the three-point line and 12-16 (.750) from the free throw line.

The victory puts the Falcons at 16-4 overall, 8-4 in the WIAC. They are one game out of first place (behind Stevens Point) and a half-game out of second (behind Whitewater). The team’s next game is
Saturday, Feb. 6. The Warhawks of UW-Whitewater travel to take on the Falcons at the Karges Center for a 5 p.m. tip off.

Box Score