RELEASED:  Saturday, February 23, 2008

UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater Share Women’s Basketball Crown

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater claimed a share of the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s basketball championship with victories on Feb. 23.

Both teams completed the regular season with a 14-2 record against WIAC adversaries after the Blugolds defeated UW-Stout, 77-74, at Zorn Arena, while the Warhawks handled UW-River Falls, 82-38, in Kachel Gymnasium.

This marks the fourth time in the last five seasons that the conference championship has been split.   UW-Eau Claire claimed the ninth title in school history and first since 2003.  The conference trophy for the Warhawks is the fourth in program history and first since the 1986 campaign.

UW-Eau Claire also earned the top seed for the WIAC Tournament, which begins on Feb. 26.   The Blugolds won a coin toss (the final tiebreaker in the five-step criteria) and will host eighth-seeded UW-River Falls in the quarterfinals, while second-seeded UW-Whitewater will host seventh-seeded UW-Platteville.  Other quarterfinal matchups include fifth-seeded UW-La Crosse at fourth-seeded UW-Stout and sixth-seeded UW-Oshkosh at third-seeded UW-Stevens Point.

The winner of the conference tournament earns the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.