Aaron Vehling

Among the possible signs that UW-Eau Claire had a slight advantage over Wisconsin Lutheran College in Wednesday’s NCAA first-round women’s basketball game, one that stood out was the attendance figure.

While 1,543 fans packed into Zorn Arena Wednesday night, Wisconsin Lutheran’s total enrollment is 600.

Not surprisingly, the contest wasn’t too close. The Blugolds (28-1) advanced to the second round with a 70-49 win over the Warriors (18-9).

Junior Becca Spaeth scored 23 points and pulled in 10 rebounds, and senior Kristi Channing added 17 points as the Blugolds took advantage of their height inside.

The front line of Spaeth, Channing and junior Brooke Wozniak helped the Blugolds outrebound the Warriors 45-30 in the game.

Despite the height advantage, the Blugolds only led by 10 at halftime, and the 10-point lead represented their largest lead of the game up to that point.

“We just needed to finish our shots in the first half,” Spaeth said. “We were missing things we aren’t used to missing.”

The Blugolds shot only 38 percent from the floor in the first half, a half that was played at such a slow pace that neither team had a fastbreak basket.

Eau Claire was able to build its halftime lead in part because it went 10-for-14 from the free-throw line. The Blugolds also made four 3-pointers in the first half to stay ahead.

“We just didn’t finish well in the first half,” coach Tonja Englund said. “Also, Channing only took three shots in the first half, and anybody who follows us knows that that’s not how we operate.

“We did a good job of getting her more involved in the offense in the second half.”

Channing scored three straight baskets at the beginning of the second half to spark a 16-6 Eau Claire run that gave the Blugolds a 50-30 lead.

Spaeth scored eight points during the run, which put the game out of reach. The Blugolds didn’t lead by less than 19 the rest of the game.

Wisconsin Lutheran’s biggest threat coming into the game was senior guard Julie Christensen, who entered the game as the Warriors’ leading scorer. Christensen averaged 15.3 points a game during the regular season, the only Warrior in double figures.

Christensen scored 21 points in the game for the Warriors, but the Blugolds’ defense forced her to be a little more creative with her shots than she may have expected.

While the Blugolds played Christensen straight up for most of the first half, they adjusted their game plan in the second half to try to limit her shots.

“We switched up more freely in the second half,” said senior Janel Soppeland, who spent much of the night guarding Christensen. “We had all our players deny her the ball and helping out when she drove. The coaches did a good job of pointing that out to us at halftime.”

Christensen was held to 2-for-8 shooting from the floor in the second half, one of the main reasons the Blugolds were able to pull away in the second half.

The Blugolds will play again Saturday, hosting Chapman University, (Calif.), which defeated the University of La Verne (Calif.) Wednesday.

The Blugolds get to play at least one more home game, but they were somewhat surprised they didn’t get a first-round bye, despite being ranked No. 1 nationally in the D3hoops.com poll.

“We were surprised, but in retrospect, it wasn’t a bad thing,” Spaeth said. “By playing, we didn’t have to break out of our routine, and games at home are always fun.”

Soppeland agreed that a first-round game was good.

“I’d much rather play than practice,” she said. “Plus, you’ll never know if it will be your last home game.”

The Blugolds were also a little surprised to be the only WIAC school playing in the NCAA tournament, despite defending national champion UW-Stevens Point finishing with a respectable 22-5 record.

“We were hoping to get a second team in there,” Englund said. “We’re looking at it like we’re representing not only our city and our university, but our conference as well.

“Everybody knows how hard our conference is. We’ve taken that to heart.”