Box Score
Stout 77, Yellowjackets 70
Not much went right in the opening half for the UW-Superior women's basketball team in their game against UW-Stout Wednesday night.
And while the second half proved better for the Yellowjackets, it wasn't enough to overcome a solid effort from the Blue Devils in a disheartening 77-70 loss at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
The loss was UW-Superior's fourth straight and dropped the Yellowjackets to 12-10 overall and 5-8 in WIAC play. UW-Stout meanwhile snapped a two-game losing skid with the win and improved to 8-14 overall and 4-9 in league play.
UW-Superior got off to a good start in the opening minutes of the first half, getting four quick points from Grace Kennedy (Wausau, Wis./Newman Catholic) to take an 8-5 lead with 17:18 left in the first half.
Two free throws from Hadley Skalmoski (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) and a free throw from Brynn Liljander (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) upped the Yellowjackets' edge to 11-7 at the 15:44 mark of the opening stanza.
The Blue Devils responded however, getting two three-pointers from Becca Smith to key an 8-3 burst that gave UW-Stout a 25-19 lead with 8:29 remaining in the first half.
UW-Stout continued to surge, taking their largest lead of the half at 41-26 on a jumper by Nicki Alexander with 3:23 left before heading into halftime holding a 42-32 lead.
The Yellowjackets started quickly in the second half, getting a jumper and three-pointer from Liljander in the opening 4:05 to trail 44-38 with 15:55 remaining in regulation.
UW-Superior continued to chip away over the next 6:08, cutting the Blue Devils' lead to 50-49 following two free throws by Allyssa Lindberg (Marquette, Mich./Marquette) at the 9:47 mark of the second half.
The Yellowjackets finally retook the lead with 7:46 left on a three-pointer by Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) before Liljander's driving basket gave UW-Superior a 60-58 edge with 7:23 showing on the clock.
Kennedy's short-jumper upped the margin to 63-60 at the 6:05 mark of regulation.
But UW-Stout came right back, scoring the next eight points for a 68-63 lead after Kyleigh Hebert's driving layup with 3:06 left in the contest.
The Yellowjackets never got closer than two points the rest of the way as UW-Stout connected on six free throws in the final 1:17 to clinch the win.
Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) led the way for UW-Superior with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Liljander added 13 points for the Yellowjackets.
UW-Stout was led by Sami Schroeder's game-high 20 points while Hebert had 18 for the Blue Devils.
Milestone Update: Linzmeier made a move on several lists in tonight's game. With her first basket she moved into sole possession of seventh place on the all-time scoring list and is one point behind Mandy Giffen (1994-99) for sixth place. With 14 rebounds she moved into 11th place with 497. Linzmeier is poised to become just the fifth player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds (Tammy Myer, Hailey Hart, Stephanie Janigo, and Giffen are the others). Next up on the rebound list is Bri Davis (2008-12) who is 10th with 528. Linzmeier also jumped from tenth to a tie for seventh on the all-time assist list with 187. On Wednesday she jumped past Katie Moench (2004-07) and Melanie Miller (1976-79) and into a tie with Kelly Krieg (2000-04). Next on the list, in sixth place is Summer LaMontagne (1994-97) with 194 assists.
The Yellowjackets return to action Saturday as they host UW-LaCrosse. Opening tipoff from Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium is scheduled for 3 p.m.
