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Kranz Leads
Pointers to Sixth Straight WIAC Semifinal
Box Score
Sophomore Chelsea Kranz
scored 16 of her career-high 22 points in the first half to help
UW-Stevens Point defeat UW-Eau Claire 84-74 in the Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game Monday
night in Berg Gym.
UW-Stevens Point, the
tournament's third seed, will make its sixth straight WIAC tournament
semifinal appearance Wednesday night when it travels to UW-Oshkosh to take
on the second-seeded Titans. UW-Eau Claire, the sixth seed, lost in the
quarterfinals for the first time in the eight year history of the
conference tournament. The two traditional league powers were meeting in
the tournament for the first time.
Kranz scored eight of the
team's first 10 points as the Pointers led by as many as 21 in the first
half. UW-Eau Claire tied the game at 20-20 with 10:40 remaining in the
half, but the Pointers scored the next 11 points and outscored the
Blugolds 23-6 over a span of 8:32. UW-Stevens Point led at halftime
49-31 after shooting 66.7 percent and holding the Blugolds to 29.7
percent.
The Pointers maintained
their lead to open the second half and matched their biggest lead of the
game at 61-40 with 13:18 left, following a three-pointer by Cassandra
Schultz. UW-Eau Claire's Heidi Arciszewski made a basket with 26 seconds
left for the final margin, which was the closest the Blugolds came in the
second half.
Schultz added 17 points and
six assists, while hitting three three-pointers. Nathalie Lechault totaled
14 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Brittanni Hakanson had a
season-high 23 points to lead the Blugolds. Arciszewski had 15 points and
Rachel Becker added 14 points.
The Pointers will be playing
UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals, marking the fifth straight year the teams
have met in the tournament. The Titans eliminated the Pointers in the
semifinals three of the past four years, with the Pointers beating
UW-Oshkosh in the 2004 title game. It will mark the Pointers' first road
WIAC tournament game since a 2000 quarterfinal game at UW-Oshkosh.
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