Steen, Hot Shooting Lift Women's Basketball to Big Road Win
Dec 2, 2015
BOX SCORE
LA CROSSE, Wis. - Sophomore Braanna Steen scored a career-high 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting and the University of Dubuque women's basketball team shot 68% in the second half to defeat UW-La Crosse on the road, 77-68, on Wednesday night.
The Spartans (2-3) took a 28-26 lead into halftime, but exploded out of the gate in the second half with 27 points in the third quarter. The Eagles (3-4) overcame 31 percent shooting and kept pace with the Spartans thanks to a 65-38 advantage on the boards, including 36 offensive boards, the second-most in school history.
Steen led a Spartan offensive that featured four double-digit scorers including Emily Brinker with 18, Abbey Meyer's 13, and Allison Biermeier's career-high 10 points.
A steal by the Eagles cut the Spartan lead to 68-62 with 2:14 left on the clock, but the Spartans closed on a 9-2 run behind four points from Brinker to seal the deal.
Both teams overcame a shaky first half with the Spartans shooting 31% and the Eagles posting a 25% performance. UD overcame a nine-point deficit in the first quarter and took their first lead of the game, 25-24, with 1:03 to go. Steen drained a three off a Meyer assist with five seconds left to take the halftime lead.
The Spartans rang up nine three's on the night with Steen and Brinker each hitting three. Steen added eight rebounds, Brinker grabbed seven boards, while Meyer dished out a season-high six assists. UD won its second game in a row after dropping its first three.
UW-La Crosse attempted 93 shots, a season-high, and featured three players with 10 rebounds.
UD improved to 3-3 all-time versus UW-La Crosse after splitting both meetings in 2014.
The Spartans face UW-Stout in their home season opener next Tuesday, December 8 at 5:00 p.m.