The loss ends the Falcons’ season.

The Falcons came into the game as the tournament’s #5 seed.

The Falcons were unable to stop the pointers hot shooting in the first half.  As a team, the Pointers shot 62.1 percent, connecting on 18-29.  They would end the game 28-51 for 54.9 percent.

UWRF would shoot a respectable 21-57 for 36.8 percent.

The Falcons were however, able to stay with the Pointers through much of the first half. With 13:12 remaining, the Falcons were up by six. But the Pointers would slowly build up a lead to go into the half leading by 12, 39-27.

The Falcons suffered from a scoring drought that lasting from 4:20 remaining in the first half until Tiffany Gregorich (Altoona, Altoona) connected on a three-pointer to put the Falcons within 11 with 16:23 to play. She would finish the game with 10.

As a result of the Pointers strong shooting, the closest the Falcons would come was eight with 13:39 and again with 11:38 left in the game. The Pointers would lead by as many as 16 with 3:44 to play.

Even though the scoreboard would suggest that Stevens Point was in control of the game, the Falcons proved they could compete with one of the best teams in the nation.  In statistical terms, there wasn’t much of a difference. UWRF outrebounded the Pointers 34-31. Maranda Dohrn (Lake City, MN, Lake City) led all players with 10 rebounds.  She also poured in 12 points to lead the Falcons.  It was her eighth double-double of the season.

Alise Holst (Plainview, MN, Plainview-Elgin-Millville) knocked in eight points, forced a team high five steals and grabbed seven boards.

Both teams had trouble hanging on to the basketball.  UWRF committed 22 turnovers and the Pointers committed 21.

Ashley Averkamp led all players with 13 points.

Tess Lardie (Eagan, MN, Eagan), the lone senior on the Falcon roster, closed out her career as a Falcon with two points and two assists on the evening.

The Falcons completed their season with an overall record of 16-11.  The Pointers will improve to 24-2 as they advance to the WIAC tournament championship on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Falcons are now 0-4 in WIAC semi-final games in school history.

Box Score

Dan Reiland UW-Eau Claire’s Leah Rempert drove around UW-River Falls’ Nikki Guhr in the first half on February 23, 2011.

Posted: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 11:09 pm | Updated: 11:13 pm, Wed Feb 23, 2011.

By Justin Harings Leader-Telegram staff Leader-Telegram |

“They did just about everything better than we did tonight,” Blugolds coach Tonja Englund said. “And that’s the bottom line.”

The Blugolds (15-11) began the  season with one of the league’s top players and hopes of a conference championship. Those dreams were undone by turnovers, an inability to  finish around the rim and defensive breakdowns at key moments.

All of those problems made one last appearance Wednesday night.

In what was surely one of their worst first halves in recent memory, the Blugolds made just two field goals and shot 13.3 percent from the field. They had no assists, 12 turnovers and — despite a glaring height advantage — were  outrebounded 24-11.

The Falcons (16-10), who had lost three consecutive games, were ahead by 19 points at halftime and didn’t let the Blugolds closer than 14 after.

“They executed our game plan,”  Falcons coach Cindy Holbrook said.

“They just played their hearts out tonight. It was a great game.”

In years past, Englund’s teams have peaked  during the playoffs —  even in last season’s  rebuilding effort. It didn’t  happen this season, in part because the Falcons were just flat-out faster from the opening tip.

Back-to-back  3-pointers by Nikki Guhr — who finished with a game-high 17 points off the bench — and Tess Lueders gave the Falcons a 22-5 lead with more than eight minutes remaining in the first half. They extended the lead to as many as 21 points late in the first half and turned back anything resembling a Blugolds rally in the second half.

The Falcons shot 43.6 percent (24 of 55) from field, a vast improvement from the last time these teams met. As part of a 45-32 victory Feb. 2, the Blugolds held the Falcons to 17.7 percent (11 of 62).

“Our coach reassured us that we can’t play two games with 17 percent shooting,” said Falcons guard Tiffany Gregorich, an Altoona native. “It’s practically impossible. We know we’re better shooters than that.”

Gregorich, her team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, scored 12 points. She then  outlined the main ideas in a game plan to succeed against a  Blugolds team with starters standing 5-foot-10, 6-foot, 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-5.

“Establish inside, box out, be able to shoot  outside and be quicker than them,” she said. “Our posts are quicker than their posts.”

The Falcons finished with a 43-26  rebounding advantage, pulled down 14 offensive boards and scored 13  second-chance points. They also  outscored the Blugolds 30-20 in the paint.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well to begin with,” Englund said. “ Usually, we can hold people down defensively if we’re  having that offensive  difficulty. We just didn’t have any consistency at either end of the floor.”

The Falcons advanced to face top-seeded  UW-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. Friday. The  Pointers (23-2) became just the sixth team in league  history to go undefeated in WIAC play.

They beat the  Falcons, 75-67, on the road in December and won, 71-58, earlier this month in  Stevens Point.

“Stevens Point is a great basketball team,” Holbrook said. “There’s no two ways about that. But you’ve only got to beat them one time. One time and survive right now, so that’s it.”

Wednesday marked the final collegiate game for Blugolds  center  Hannah Mesick, who had nine points and seven rebounds in her finale.

Mesick, a four-year starter from Chatfield, Minn., was the Blugolds’ only senior this season. She will leave as one of the top five scorers and top 10 rebounders in  program history.

“Obviously, it’s hard to say goodbye to Hannah,” Englund said. “There is a very promising future up there, but they’ve really got to spend some time on some things  during the offseason.”

Chetek native Nicole Christianson and Sarah Bingea each finished with 10 points for the  Blugolds. Both are eligible to come back next season, along with point guard Laura Olson and 6-foot-5 center Ellen Plendl.

“Credit to Hannah,” Englund said. “She did everything she could for this team this year. We just have to have more people that have the  ability, on night after night after night, to be consistent for us.” 

(5) UW-RIVER FALLS 66, (4) UW-EAU CLAIRE 44

UW-River Falls — FGM-FGA FTM-FTA TP: Brittany Gregorich 3-6 2-2 8, Taylor House 3-7 0-0 6, Tiffany Gregorich 4-10 4-4 12, Maranda Dohrn 3-6 4-5 10, Alise Holst 1-7 0-4 3, Ashley Backes 0-0 0-0 0, Stephanie Walek 0-0 0-0 0, Tess Lardie 1-3 0-1 2, Morgan Dahlke 0-2 0-0 0, Nikki Guhr 6-9 3-4 17, Tess Lueders 3-5 0-3 8, Melissa Carmody 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-55 13-23 66.

UW-Eau Claire — Laura Olson 2-8 1-2 7, Nicole Christianson 3-9 4-5 10, Sarah Bingea 2-5 6-7 10, Hannah Mesick 3-8 3-3 9, Ellen Plendl 2-3 0-0 4, Leah Rempert 0-3 1-2 1, Casteele Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Jess Freagon 0-1 0-0 0, Jade Pelzl 0-0 0-0 0, Lindsey Wanish 0-1 0-0 0, Tessa Feyereisen 0-1 0-0 0, Callie Halama 0-1 0-0 0, Emily Miller 1-2 1-2 3, Kelli Schramm 0-0 0-0 0, Devyn Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-42 16-21 44.

3-point goals: UW-River Falls 5-12 (House 0-1, T. Gregorich 0-2, Holst 1-2, Guhr 2-3, Lueders 2-4), UW-Eau Claire 2-13 (Olson 2-6, Christianson 0-3,  Rempert 0-2, Freagon 0-1, Wanish 0-1). Rebounds: UW-River Falls 43 (Dohrn 12), UW-Eau Claire 26 (Mesick 7).  Assists: UW-River Falls 12 (T. Gregorich 3), UW-Eau Claire 7 (Christianson 4). Total fouls: UW-River Falls 16, UW-Eau Claire 19. Records: UW-River Falls  16-10; UW-Eau Claire 15-11.

By: Kevin Meinholz, Sports Information Director
Posted: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 10:37 PM

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (UWECBlugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women’s basketball team had a tough time against UW-River Falls in the first round of the WIAC Tournament and fell 66-44 at Zorn Arena tonight.

River Falls improves to 16-10 on the season and will head to Stevens Point to take on the Pointers in a WIAC Semifinal game on Friday at 7 p.m. Eau Claire ends the season with a 15-11 mark.

The Blugolds fell behind right away as River Falls built a 9-1 lead over the first five minutes. The Falcons continued to build their lead throughout the half and were up by as much as 21 points with just over a minute before halftime. River Falls took a 19-point lead into the locker room.

In the first half, the Blugolds managed just two field goals, one from Nicole Christianson (Jr.-Chetek, Wis.) and another from Ellen Plendl (Jr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell), while scoring nine points at the free throw line. Eau Claire scored only 13 points in the opening half while River Falls had 32.

Eau Claire opened the second half with a three-pointer from Laura Olson (Jr.-Osseo, Wis./Osseo-Fairchild) to cut the lead to 16 which began a 9-4 run. Over the first five minutes of the second half, Eau Claire cut the Falcons’ lead to 14 but it was as close as the Blugolds would get. In the final 13 minutes, River Falls outscored the Blugolds 30-22 to win by 22 points.

The Blugolds struggled shooting, going 13-for-42 (31 percent) from the field. River Falls finished shooting 43.6 percent (24-for-55). The Falcons also outrebounded the Blugolds 43-26 and scored 19 points off 17 Blugold turnovers while Eau Claire managed just four points off 12 Falcon turnovers.

Christianson and Sarah Bingea (So.-Delano, Minn.) led the Blugolds with 10 points each and Hannah Mesick (Sr.-Chatfield, Minn.) led the team with seven rebounds while coming away with nine points. Plendl recorded five blocks and now has 145 in her career, the third best mark in program history.

Mesick was the lone senior on this year’s squad and finished her career high in a number of statistical categories. After leading the WIAC in scoring this season, she finished her career with 1,443 points, ranked fourth on the Blugolds’ all-time scoring list. She was also third in free throws made, seventh in rebounding, sixth in blocked shots and second in games started.

Check out pictures here.

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

The women’s basketball team upset the #4 seed UW-Eau Claire 66-44, in the first round of the WIAC play-offs on Wednesday at the Zorn Arena in Eau Claire. UWRF came into the game as the #5 seed.

The Falcons were led by Nikki Guhr (Muskego, Muskego), who poured in a career high 17 points.  Her previous career high was 15, which came back on Dec. 8, also against Eau Claire. Those 17 points led all players.

UWRF got off to a great start early on, leading 14-3 with 11:47 to go in the first half. The Falcons would continue to build upon the lead, going on an 8-0 run which eventually built to a 21-point lead with 1:07 remaining in the half.  The Falcons would hold Eau Claire to a mere 13 points in the first half.

In the second half, the Falcons would pick up right where they left off- with strong defense and a relentless offense. The Falcons always led by double digits, and the closest Eau Claire would come was within 14 with 15:17 remaining in the game. The largest lead for the Falcons was 26 with 1:59 left in the game.

As a team, the Falcons capitalized on Blugold mistakes, converting 19 points off turnovers.  The Falcons were unstoppable on the boards, tearing down 43 and limiting Eau Claire to 26.

Maranda Dohrn (Lake City, MN, Lake City) was the game’s top rebounder.  She collected 12 boards to go along with 10 points, her seventh double- double of the season. (Altoona, Altoona) was one of three Falcons to reach double digits for points.  She scored 12 to go along with Guhr’s 17 and Dohrn’s 10.

Tiffany Gregorich

The Falcons also proved the depth and balance of their team as their bench scored 27 points.  Eau Claire’s bench meanwhile, scored a dismal four.

The win marks the first time in history that the Falcons have defeated UWEC in a WIAC play-off game.  The Falcons came into the game 0-6 versus Eau Claire.  The Falcons improve to 4-12 in all WIAC play-off games. They also improve to 4-9 in the first round.  UWRF has yet to win a semifinal game, as they are 0-3 throughout school history.

Up next for the Falcons is the WIAC tournament semifinals.  The Falcons will face the top seed and D3hoops.com No.4 ranked, UW-Stevens Point.  The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb 25 at Stevens Point.  On Feb. 12, the Falcons fell on the road to the Pointers 71-58.

The Falcons will enter the game with an overall record of 16-10.  The Pointers are 23-2 overall.

Box Score

February 19, 2011

Senior Ashley Wolf celebrated senior day in grand fashion tying a University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s basketball program record with seven 3 pointers en route to a career-best 30 points on Saturday afternoon at Bo Ryan Court.

The 30 points sparked the Pioneers to a 73-64 win over UW-River Falls to snap a 14-game losing streak in the process.

UW-Platteville (5-20, 2-14 WIAC) was led by the 30 points from Wolf, Liz Lawinger added 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a game-high five assists and Claire Poad tallied 11 points in the win.

UW-River Falls (15-10, 7-9 WIAC) had three players in double figures including Maranda Dohrn and Alise Holst, who each scored 13 and Tiffany Gregorich added 11 in the loss.

The Pioneers knocked down 10 – including the seven by Wolf – of 14 three pointers in the win, including a seven-for-eight effort in the second half. With a 52-43 deficit and 8:29 to play, the Pioneers began to take down the Falcon lead with a layup by Ashley Henry and nearly single-handedly Wolf brought UW-Platteville back scoring eight of the next nine points in the game to tie the contest at 53 with 5:35 to play.

After a UWRF timeout, the Falcons briefly regained the lead before Poad hit a 3 pointer with 4:40 to play put the Pioneers back in front for the first time since the 3:39 mark of the first half. Six-straight points by Wolf put UW-Platteville ahead by seven and for the remainder of the contest. UW-River Falls would manage to cut the deficit to as little as five on a pair of occasions but no closer in the win for the Pioneers.

Following the game, the program recognized Wolf and fellow senior Mallory Mau for their contributions and efforts towards Pioneer women’s basketball.

The women’s basketball team had their best shooting performance of the season, but it was not enough as the Falcons fell to UW-Platteville, 73-64 at Platteville.

As a team, the Falcons fired an outstanding 25-54 or 46.3 percent from the field goal range.

Platteville started the game on an 8-0 run until Taylor House (Maple Grove, MN, Maple Grove) put the Falcons on the board with 15:12 remaining in the first half. The Falcons responded by chipping away at the UWP lead and a defense that literally shut the door on Platteville’s offense.

The Falcons defense was stingy, holding the Pioneers to without a field goal from 10:28 to go in the first half, all the way down to the halftime buzzer. Platteville would not score a field goal until the 18:08 mark of the second half, a time spanning 12:30.

With 3:39 to go in the first half, Alise Holst (Plainview, MN, Plainview-Elgin-Millville) gave the Falcons their first lead of the night, connecting on a layup as UWRF went up 20-19.

After that, it was all Falcons in the first half.  Maranda Dohrn (Lake City, MN, Lake City) would score two layups and Melissa Carmody (Barneveld, Barneveld) a three-pointer to put the Falcons up by eight. During that span, Nikki Guhr (Muskego, Muskego) would assist on two of those three baskets. The Falcons would go into halftime on a 13-0 run.

The Falcons would come out of the gate firing in the second half, expanding their run to 15 straight points.  This run accumulated from 6:31 in the first half up until the 18:08 mark of the second half.

The largest lead for the Falcons came when they were up 11 with 18:46 to play.

The Pioneers however, would try to close the gap on the Falcons.  With 5:35 remaining, the Pioneers would tie the game at 53. Guhr would score a basket to put the Falcons back up by two, but Claire Poad would sink a three-pointer to put Platteville up by one with 4:40 to play.  It was Platteville’s first lead of the half.  The last time UWP was ahead was with 3:39 to go in the first half.

Ashley Wolf of UWP would nail four free throws and a three pointer to put the Pioneers up seven with 2:57 remaining.

Holst would respond with a three-pointer to cut the Pioneer lead down to five with 49 seconds remaining, but that was the closest the Falcons would come for the remainder of the game.

 Holst and Dohrn lead the Falcons with 13 points and five rebounds apiece.Tiffany Gregorich (Altoona, Altoona) would finish with 11.

Wolf would end with a game high 30 points for UWP.

The Falcons were troubled by fouls and turnovers.  Three different Falcons fouled out during the game.  The Falcons also committed 21 turnovers, compared to the Pioneers 14.

The Falcons would however, outrebound the Pioneers.  The Falcons grabbed 38 and the Pioneers 24.

This was the third loss in a row for the Falcons.

The Falcons fall to 15-10 overall and 7-9 in the WIAC.  Platteville meanwhile improves to 6-19 overall and 2-14 in the WIAC.

Up next for the Falcons is the first round of the WIAC play-offs. The Falcons finished in a tie with UW-Oshkosh for fifth place with 7-9 records in the WIAC. The Falcons won the tie breaker over the Titans and will be the tourney’s No. 5 seed. UWRF will play at No. 4 seeded UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday. Action starts at 7 p.m.

Box Score