EAU CLAIRE (WEAU) - The UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team suffered through an abysmal first half Wednesday night, making just two field goals and turning the ball over 12 times in an eventual 66-44 loss to UW-River Falls in a WIAC Tournament 1st round match-up Wednesday night.

The Blugolds went more than 14 minutes without scoring a field goal in the first half, shooting just 13.3 percent. The Falcons, meanwhile, sank four three-pointers and opened the game on a 22-5 run to earn a 32-13 advantage at halftime.

Eau Claire started the second half strong, cutting the deficit to 36-22 after a layup by Ellen Plendl. River Falls responded right away with a three-pointer from Alise Holst and a layup by Brittany Gregorich to push the lead back to 20, putting the game out of reach for Eau Claire.

The Falcons Nikki Guhr led all scorers with 17 points, while Altoona natives Brittany and Tiffany Gregorich combined for 20. Eau Claire got 10 points each from Nicole Christianson and Sarah Bingea, while senior Hannah Mesick added nine for the Blugolds.

River Falls moves on to face top-seeded UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals of the WIAC Tournament on Friday.