Issued: November 30, 2002

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CLAIMS THANKSGIVING SHOWCASE TITLE

EAU CLAIRE - Janel Soppeland (Sr-Cadott) tied a school record with six three-pointers and the Blugold defense forced 29 turnovers as the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team defeated Northwestern 83-48 in the championship game of the UWEC Thanksgiving Showcase Tournament here tonight at W.L. Zorn Arena.

With the victory the Blugolds remain undefeated with a 5-0 record while Northwestern falls to 4-3 for the season.

The Blugolds started off the first half in a suffocating full court press defense that stumped the Eagles and eventually led to 29 Northwestern turnovers and 20 steals by the Eau Claire defense. As a result, Eau Claire scored 36 points off turnovers while the Eagles managed only 14 points on Eau Claire miscues. The Eagles combated the tough defense by hitting nearly 50 percent from the floor in the first half to keep the game within five with less than seven minutes to play in the first half. The Blugolds outscored Northwestern 16-8 in the rest of the half to take a 41-28 lead into the locker room.

Eau Claire dominated the second half shooting nearly 54 percent from the field while holding the Eagles to just seven field goals. Soppeland hit five trifectas in the second half including a shot from NBA range that brought the crowd of 473 people to their feet.

Soppeland led all Blugolds with 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Her six three-pointers ties three other Blugolds who have accomplished the feat, the latest being Jessie Brantner who did it twice last season. Kristi Channing (Sr-Fall Creek) contributed a double-double in the Blugold win by posting 20 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. Becca Spaeth (Jr-Chippewa Falls/Chi-Hi) also scored in double digits with 11 points while grabbing eight boards.

In the consolation game of the Thanksgiving Showcase Viterbo defeated Hamline by a score of 82-72. Hamline fought large deficits effectively cutting the lead to two points with 1:58 to play in the game but the Viterbo defense held Hamline to just two points the rest of the game en route to the third place victory. Lindsey Klatt led Viterbo with 17 points and Carolyn Korchik put up 26 for Hamline in the loss.

Janel Soppeland was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player totaling 34 points and eight rebounds in the two games. Kristi Channing was also named to the six-player All-Tournament Team posting 35 points and 14 rebounds. Other members of the All-Tournament Team were Sara Tonneson and Jessica Emmert of Northwestern, Lindsey Klatt of Viterbo, and Nina Boyd of Hamline.

The Blugolds will next travel to La Crosse for the conference opener against the Eagles of UW-La Crosse. Tip-off is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Eau Claire-Northwestern Box

Viterbo-Hamline Box