UW-L men’s and women’s basketball teams sweep UW-EC

The UW-La Crosse women’s basketball team improved to 13-1 with a big win at home over UW-Eau Claire.

The Eagles began the game up 19-0 and never trailed, on the way to a 72-62 win at Mitchell Hall.

Winona native Hallee Hoeppner ended the Blugolds’ drought to begin the game with a 3-pointer. She finished with 16 points.

The Eagles led by as many as 18 in the third quarter but an 11-0 Blugolds run cut the lead to 55-51 with 6:22 remaining.

It didn’t last long. The Eagles answered with an 11-2 run and never looked back.

The two teams entered the contest ranked just outside the Top 25 in Division 3 on D3Hoops.

Emma Gamoke led four Eagles in double figures with 16 points. Delaney Schoenenberger and Dani Craig each scored 15, while Ava Kramer added 14 off the bench.

UW-L shot just 39.1 percent from the field but hit 11 of 26 3-pointers (42.3 percent).

The Blugolds shot just 32.3 percent (21 of 65) from the field.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

For the first time in five years, the UW-La Crosse men’s basketball team has opened conference 3-0.

The Eagles never trailed Wednesday in beating UW-Eau Claire on the road, 58-39.

Ben Meinholz scored 21 points, going 8-for-9 from the line, and added nine rebounds and four steals to lead UW-L (10-4), which went on a 15-3 run midway through the second half to pull away.

UW-L didn’t allow a double-digit scorer, holding the Blugolds (9-5, 2-1) to just 30-percent shooting.

Saturday will be a big test for UW-L, as it hosts 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater (12-2) at Mitchell hall.