Using tough perimeter defense and clutch shots by its veterans, the women’s basketball team advanced to the WIAC tournament final this week with victories over UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls.

In the conference championship, the Blugolds will host seventh-seeded UW-Platteville, who upset UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point in the first two rounds of the tournament. The game time is to be announced.

The ‘Golds won the conference championship last year, but lost in the NCAA sectionals.

Monday night the top-seeded Blugolds hosted eighth-seeded Whitewater. The Blugolds dominated the game from the start, taking the lead for good at 11-10.

Eau Claire led by as many as 16 in the first half, taking a 42-31 lead at the break. The second half was more of the same, with the Blugolds opening with a 12 to two run. The ‘Golds’ lead got as high as 30 points in the second half, and they were able to cruise to an 87-72 victory.

Sophomore Kristi Channing came off the bench to lead the Blugolds in scoring, getting her 15 points in only 13 minutes of action. Senior Jessie Brantner got 12 points for the Blugolds, and senior Meagan Whatley added 10.

Head coach Tonja Englund was very pleased with her team’s performance against Whitewater.

“We did a great job of making the extra pass and getting good shots,” she said. “The bench did a great job.”

In the semifinal matchup Wednesday night, Eau Claire hosted fourth-seeded River Falls, who advanced to the semifinals by defeating Stout by a 78-66 score.

The Blugolds played aggressively right from the start, jumping out to a 17-3 lead. The Falcons did not get a field goal until the 10 minute, 26 second mark of the first half, but they were able to calm down enough to cut the Blugolds’ lead to eight at halftime, 30-22.

Eau Claire started the second half strongly, stretching their lead to 45-30 after Brantner made the second of her three second-half three-pointers. The Falcons picked up the pace a little after that and kept the Blugolds’ lead hovering in single digits throughout most of the second half.

Big shots by seniors Vanessa Schley and Megan Murphy helped Eau Claire keep the game out of reach. Brantner’s three-pointer with 4:23 left put the Blugolds up 11, and they were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to claim a 70-54 victory.

“They have some really good shooters,” Schley said of River Falls. “We focused on stopping them.”

Schley led the Blugolds with 23 points, 11 of those coming in the second half. Murphy added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Brantner had seven rebounds to go with her nine points.

“We came out and started very solidly,” Englund said. “That was big since we’ve been playing well in the second half recently.”

“I was very pleased with how we were able to hold off their run,” she said. “We got big shots from our seniors in the second half.”

Next up for Eau Claire is the conference championship game against Platteville Saturday at Zorn Arena. The two teams split their regular season series, with each team winning its home games. Platteville is coming off upsets in the first two rounds, but Eau Claire is glad to play them in their house.

“Playing at home is a big advantage,” Schley said. “Three games in one week can be really tiring, but it’s nice to not have to travel.”