Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, February 08, 2008
UW-L women go over .500 with victory over UW-Platteville
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The UW-La Crosse women’s basketball team turned up its defense over the final 4½ minutes of the second half and forward Lindsay Wahl turned in a key three-point play in a 65-58 WIAC win over UW-Platteville on Thursday.
The Eagles (11-10, 6-6 WIAC) went over .500 for the first time since Jan. 23 with the win.
“We started sluggish in the first half, but came out more aggressive in the second half and made some key defensive stops down the stretch,” UW-L coach Lois Heeren said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have but we still found a way to win.”
Wahl, a junior, had a game-high 19 points, including 11 of 13 from the free-throw line, and seven rebounds. Mackenzie Hunter and Dana Churchill each added 15 points.
Platteville (10-11, 4-8) led 51-50 with 5½ minutes left when UW-L started a 15-7 run to the end of the game. Wahl hit a pair of free throws and Hunter hit a jump shot to give the Eagles a 54-51 lead.
After the Pioneers cut it to 54-53, with 4:21 to go, UW-L didn’t allow them a field goal the rest of the way.
“Any time you win on the road, especially in a great environment like this, it’s a great win,” Heeren said. “This was a confidence builder going into Oshkosh (on Saturday).”
Viterbo 64, Ashford 59
CLINTON, Iowa — Trailing by four points at halftime and 10 early in the second half, the V-Hawks got it together and rallied for an MCC win against the Saints.
Viterbo didn’t shoot particularly well, 37 percent in the second half, but won the game in other ways. The V-Hawks turned the ball over just twice in the second half and 11 times in the game, had 19 offensive rebounds and hit six of six free throws down the stretch.
“We took good care of the ball and those offensive rebounds were big,” V-Hawks coach Bobbi Vandenberg said. “I thought it was a really good win for us.”
Viterbo (12-12, 6-6 MCC) is still playing without forward Katina Mandylaris, its leading rebounder, who has a concussion. Sophomore Abilene Koch, making her fourth start of the season, led with seven rebounds and Joni Stanek added six to go with 10 points.
Katie Mechling (13 points) and Kari Thiel (12 points) led the V-Hawks in scoring.
Kayla Crist had 18 for Ashford (9-16, 3-9).
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Ashford 59, Viterbo 45
CLINTON, Iowa — If the game had ended at halftime, the V-Hawks would have left town feeling great about themselves.
But a near-perfect first half gave way to a poor second half, and the Saints (15-9, 6-6) overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Viterbo in an MCC game.
“We played rock-solid in the first half,” V-Hawks coach Wayne Wagner said. “Everything we needed to do, we did it. In the second half, we were not the same. We let them dictate the tempo and we let them get to us.”
Viterbo shot 46 percent in the first half compared to 11 in the second half. Ashford’s second-half run was 38-12.
Eric Ambrose led the V-Hawks (8-17, 3-9) with 17 points.
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