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Issued: January 22, 2008

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SET TO HOST STEVENS POINT

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Eau Claire women’s basketball team will look to extend its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) win streak to eight games when it takes on UW-Stevens Point at W.L. Zorn Arena on Wednesday.

The Blugolds, who are ranked 25th in both the D3hoops.com and USA Today/ESPN Division III top 25 polls, are currently leading the conference with a 7-0 WIAC record and a 13-3 overall record. Stevens Point comes into the game ranked 10th (D3hoops.com) and sixth (USA Today/ESPN), and are third in the conference with a 6-1 WIAC record and a 15-1 overall record. The Pointers only loss came at the hands of UW-Whitewater, who the Blugolds defeated two weeks ago.

Statistically, Eau Claire and Stevens Point are similarly matched. Eau Claire is coming into the game shooting 45.8 percent from the field while Stevens Point is hitting 47.8 percent of its shots from the field. Both teams are also shooting above 70 percent from the free throw line.

The Blugolds have fared a little better than the Pointers from beyond the arc, as they are hitting 36 percent of shots to the Pointers’ 35.4. Both teams are also pulling down a similar amount of rebounds with Stevens Point averaging 39.5 per game while the Blugolds are averaging 37.2.

One category that the Pointers and the Blugolds have a significant difference is in the average amount of points the teams score per game. Eau Claire averages 68.3 points per game while Stevens Point averages 79.8. However, both teams are allowing opponents a similar amount of points, with the Blugolds allowing 55.8 and the Pointers allowing 54.6.

Heidi Arciszewski (Jr.-Thorp, Wis.) currently leads the Blugolds in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Michelle Burns (Sr.-Eau Claire, Wis./North) is right behind her, however, with a 13.0 average. Burns also leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Heather Witt (Jr.-Kendall, Wis./Royall) has also made large contributions this season, as she is also averaging double figures (10.2 points per game) and has a team-high 59 assists and 35 steals.

For the Pointers two players have reached double digit point totals. Haley Houghton is leading the team with 13.2 points per game and is 39-for-43 (90.7 percent) from the charity stripe this season. Chelsea Kranz also has 10.1 points per game and is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 4.3 boards per game.

The Blugolds will look to get to .500 all-time against Stevens Point. The Pointers currently lead the series 34-33. While Eau Claire has lost three of its last four games against the Pointers, the Blugolds have not dropped a game to the Pointers at Zorn Arena since February 6, 2002.

Eau Claire and Stevens Point are set to tip off at 7 p.m.

- KM -

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