Both the women’s and the men’s basketball teams got their conference play off to a good start Saturday when both teams defeated UW-Stout.

The women’s team brought its overall record to 5-1 with the 70-59 victory. The men improved to 4-2 with a 72-63 win, and are on a four-game winning streak.

Women

Last year, Stout defeated Eau Claire in the championship game, and the Blugolds were looking to return the favor.

“Having lost the championship to them, we came in with a chip on our shoulder,” junior Heather Witt said. “We were ready to go get our revenge.”

They did just that, handing the Lady Blue Devils their first home loss in almost two years.

“It was a really good confidence booster,” coach Tonja Englund said. “That is a really tough place to win. Last year we were really inconsistent on the road, and that’s something we’ve been working on.”

The Blue Devils scored first, but the Blugolds came back to tie the game up at eight. They did not fall behind again the rest of the evening. Stout tied the game at 12, but Eau Claire went on a 12-0 run to take a commanding lead. The Blugolds led by a score of 34-22 at the half.

The Blue Devils went on several runs to try and take back the game, but the Blugolds held on to win by a score of 70-59.

“It was definitely a great feeling,” Witt said. “We needed to start strong and send a message to the rest of the conference.”

Witt led in scoring for the Blugolds with 22 points. She shot 7-9 from the field, while going 4-5 on three-pointers and 4-7 from the line. Junior Heidi Arciszewski scored 13 points for the Blugolds.

Englund said the tough non-conference games helped prepare the team for Stout.

“Our non-conference schedule is one of the toughest we have ever played,” she said. “We only had one loss, and we learned a lot from that loss. It was a good test for us and we feel pretty confident going into the conference.”

Next up is a trip to UW-Platteville on Wednesday.

“They are going to be tough,” Witt said. “We are going to have to bring our stuff and be ready to play.”

Englund said the team is preparing for Platteville.

“Platteville is another tough place to play,” she said. “You have to prepare on the bus. But we have so many returning players that know what it takes.

They were excited about the win, but then there was a talk about the next game, about getting focusing and taking it one game at a time. We play Platteville and UW-La Crosse before taking on Carleton College (Minn.). It will be an important stretch for us.”

Men

On Saturday the men’s basketball team snapped a seven game losing streak to Stout with its win Saturday.

“It was good to get off on the right foot,” senior Zack Ryan said. “It gives us confidence going into the season.”

Coach Terry Gibbons said the win was due to the players’ concentration on the game.

“I think our kids played with focus,” Gibbons said. “They showed a lot of poise. They were unselfish with the ball.”

The game was a close one, with the highest lead being only four points. Eau Claire took a 28-22 lead going into the half. Both teams shot exactly 33.3 percent from the field in the first half.

“We stuck with our game plan,” Gibbons said. “Stout is a very good team. But we weren’t affected by their runs.”

Stout took the lead back in the second half after going on a 10-0 run. It didn’t last long as freshman Ryan Shea and junior Dan Mullen each scored three-pointers to take a four point lead.

Ryan and junior Dan Beyer, also co-captains, each scored three points to secure a lead over Stout, giving Eau Claire the victory. Stout managed to barely outshoot Eau Claire with 46.8 percent. The Blugolds finished the game with 44.6 percent.

“It was our defense, as well as our patient offense,” Ryan said. “We made stops when we needed to.”

Beyer led the Blugolds with 20 points. Shea had 17 and Mullen had 11. Eau Claire only had six turnovers compared to 12 for Stout.

The Blugolds will return home Wednesday to take on UW-Platteville. They have not had a home game yet this season, and have played on the road for six straight games.

“It’s really exciting to be home,” Ryan said. ” I think we are one of the only teams in the country to not have a home game yet. It’ll be good to be back in Zorn.”

Gibbons said the team is looking forward to the home game, but not taking it for granted.

“We are definitely not going to take our home game for granted,” he said. “Platteville is a ranked team. We look forward to playing them. We are ready for the challenge.”