WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (4-2, 1-1) will attempt to get back on the winning track after being upset by UW-Platteville at home Saturday. The Blue Devils will host UW-Superior (1-3, 0-2), Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., then travel to UW-Oshkosh (6-1, 2-0), Saturday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. Stout took two games from Superior last year, and three from Oshkosh. The Superior game will be available on Stout Radio, while the Oshkosh game will be available on WMEQ 880-AM, at Stout was ranked eighth in last week's D3hoops.com poll, but will certainly drop this week. Last week: In two home games last week the Blue Devils took care of UW-Eau Claire, 82-62, Nov. 30, then were tripped up by Platteville, 63-54, Dec. 3. Player of the week: Kelsey Duoss, Jr, Janesville, Wis. (Clinton)

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Devils (5-1, 2-0) are sitting on top of the conference after two wins last week, and will attempt to extend their winning streak past four. Stout will be at UW-Superior (3-2, 0-2), Wednesday, Dec. 7 and at UW-Oshkosh (2-2, 1-1), Saturday, Dec. 10, at 5 p.m. Stout will be at Bethany Lutheran, Monday, Dec. 12. Stout split with both Superior and Oshkosh last year, getting a home win against Superior and a road win against Oshkosh. The Superior and Oshkosh games will be available on WMEQ 880-AM. The Blue Devils were getting votes in last week's D3hoops.com poll. Last week: The Blue Devils demolished UW-Eau Claire, 72-37, Nov. 30, then went on to hold off No. 20 ranked UW-Platteville, 56-50, Dec. 3. Player of the week: Ryan Stangl, So, Spring Valley, Wis.

HOCKEY
The Blue Devils (7-5-0, 3-1-0 NCHA, 2-0-0 WIAC) will finish off NCHA play for the first semester when they host St. Scholastica (6-4-0, 2-2-0), Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m., then go to UW-Superior (7-3-1, 2-1-1, 1-1-0), Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. Stout is currently in second place in the NCHA and tied for first in the WIAC. Stout was swept by St. Scholastica last season, and had a loss and tie with the Yellowjackets. The Superior game is expected to be available at KUWS-FM. Last week: Stout fell, 4-0, at St. Norbert, Dec. 2, then bounced back to a take a 4-3 win over Lake Forest, Dec. 3. Player of the week: Andrew Stearns, Jr, Wadena, Minn.

Women's Basketball

KAISER HELPS PIONEERS STUN HIGHLY-TOUTED BLUE DEVILS

MENOMONIE (December 3, 2005) - Prior to the 2005-06 season the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) sports information directors collectively predicted the UW-Stout women's basketball squad would capture its second consecutive WIAC title.

Two games into their league schedule, the Blue Devils - who trounced UW-Eau Claire in their conference opener - found out the hard way exactly how tough of a road they will have to successfully travel if they hope to accomplish that feat.

Not intimidated in the least by the Blue Devils, ranked No. 3 nationally in at least one NCAA Division III poll entering the game, the Pioneers stormed into Johnson Fieldhouse Saturday and snowplowed any thoughts of a Stout cake-walk through the WIAC with a somewhat-surprising, 63-54 defeat of Mark Thomas' troops.

Stout (4-2, 1-1) led by as many as seven points, at 40-33, in the second half, but turnovers represented one of the factors that prevented the Blue Devils from burying the Pioneers.

Benefiting from some less-than-crisp play from Stout, which committed 26 turnovers in the contest, and some particularly amazing play from its own Holly Kaiser, who tallied a game-high 25 points, Platteville (4-3, 1-0) pecked away at the Blue Devil lead, taking it away for good, at 49-47, with just under six minutes remaining in the game.

Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville) netted a team-high 23 points and pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds to pace Stout in the loss, which ended a three-game winning streak against the Pioneers. Savanah Oeltjen (Jr, Spring Valley, Minn) added seven points for the Blue Devils, while Steffanie Nemitz (Sr, Bloomington) and Molly Hendricks (Sr, Blaine, Minn) pitched in six and five points, respectively. Nemitz added seven rebounds, while Amanda Geissler (Jr, Thorp) snagged six. Hendricks led the team with three dishes and Duoss swatted three Pioneer shots.

Lisa Grantman, with 12 points, and Liz Tesch, with 10, also scored in double figures to Platteville.

Stout hit 19-of-56 field goals, while the Pioneers made 20-of-55 tries from the floor. The Blue Devils connected on 1-of-17 treys, while the Pioneers made 2-of-14 shots from beyond the arc. Stout canned 15-of-22 free throws, with Duoss going 7-for-11 from the stripe. The Pioneers made 21-of-32 free throws.

The Blue Devils will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 7, when they host UW-Superior at Johnson Fieldhouse, starting at 7 p.m.

MENOMONIE (November 30, 2005) - Kelsey Duoss (Jr, Janesville) and her supporting cast opened up the game in the second half and went on to take an 82-62 win over UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devils (4-1, 1-0) held a tenuous 33-26 halftime lead and Duoss, Stout's leading scorer averaging 20 points coming into the game, was held to five first half points. The second half was a different story as Duoss scored 14 second half points to finish with 19 points and went on to collect a double-double with 14 rebounds, eight in the second stanza.

Duoss was supported in the post by Steffanie Nemitz (Sr, Bloomington), Dani Boese (Fr, Alma) and Jenny McDermid (Jr, Oconto Falls). Nemitz, who has suffered nagging injuries throughout her career, finished with seven points and five rebounds, while Boese, who sat out last season to injury, finished with six points and three rebounds. McDermid collected seven points, but five come in the first half.

Guard Molly Hendricks (Sr, Blaine, Minn) proved to be a gamer again, knocking down a couple of key 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 11 points.

Point guard Joanna Bird (So, Boyceville) tallied 14 points, nine in the first half.

The young Blugolds (3-3, 0-1), with 10 freshmen on their roster, kept the game close in the first half, although they never led. The closest Eau Claire would ever get was 13-12 with 12 minute left in the first half.

Eau Claire cut into Stout's lead, getting the score to 33-28 just a minute into the second half. Hendricks hit a 3-pointer to put Stout up, 36-28, but Eau Claire's Amanda Zenner nailed two charity shots to get back to within six.

That would be it for the Blugolds as Duoss scored four points, followed by a bucket by Nemitz and Stout held a 42-30 lead. The Blue Devils would not relinquish the double digit margin.

The game was a typical physical contest between the two nearby rivals. Both teams were whistled for 26 fouls. Eau Claire drained 23-of-35, while Stout dropped in 21-of-31 from the stripe.

Stout held a 46-36 bulge off the glass. Stout shot 45.8 percent for the game from the floor, and 56.7 percent in the second half. The Blugolds were held to 30 percent shooting on the night. Stout dropped in seven 3-pointers, with Hendricks getting three. Eau Claire was led in scoring by guard Rachel Mueggenborg with 14 points.

Men's Basketball

STANGL, BLUE DEVILS TEACH PLATTEVILLE A FEW LESSONS

MENOMONIE (December 3, 2005) - UW-Platteville learned two valuable lessons in suffering a 56-50 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) loss to UW-Stout Saturday at Johnson Fieldhouse: One, the Blue Devils (5-1, 2-0) don't give a rip about rankings and, two, a team would be wise to steer clear of fouling Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley)with the game on the line.

Stangl, who led all Stout scorers with 17 points, connected on 8-of-8 charity shots in the game's final 29 seconds to help the Blue Devils survive a late charge by Platteville (4-3, 0-1), which was ranked 20th in NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com entering the game.

Stout, which led 29-18 at intermission, took the lead for good, at 11-9, with 13 minutes, 5 seconds to go in the first half, but the Pioneers remained close throughout the contest and the Blue Devils weren't truly able to finish them off until Stangl bottomed a pair of freebies with seven ticks to go.

Stangl - who ended up with three rebounds, three steals and one assist in addition to his aforementioned points - served as the hero but he had plenty of help.

Jacob Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) pitched in 10 points and a rebounds, while Adam Chandler (So, Burnsville, Minn) added nine points, a team-high five steals and a team-high two assists. John Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) contributed five points and four rebounds. Brian Buck (Sr, Minneapolis, Minn). Stout hit 19-of-44 field goals, while Platteville made 18-of-43 attempts from the floor. The Blue Devils hit 2-of-9 treys, the Pioneers 4-of-14. Stout made 16-for-23 from the free throw line, with Stangl draining 10-of-10 from the line. Meanwhile, the Pioneers went 10-of-13 from the line.

Platteville outrebounded Stout, 28-24, but committed 21 turnovers to Stout's 12.

The Blue Devils will return to play Wednesday, when they travel to UW-Superior for a WIAC tilt slated to begin at 7 p.m.

EAU CLAIRE (November 30, 2005) - UW-Stout had played rather lethargically the last couple of games. Lethargy was not a problem for the Blue Devils Wednesday as they charged out of the gates of Zorn Arena and never looked back, completely dominating UW-Eau Claire, 72-35.

The 37 points is the largest margin of victory Stout has had over the Blue Devils since the teams first met in 1917. The previous margin was 33 points during the 1946-47 season.

The Blue Devils (4-1, 1-0) jumped out to a 10 point lead with a balanced scoring attack eight minutes into the game. After allowing Eau Claire (3-2, 0-1) to within nine a few times, the Blue Devils jumped out to double digits and it would get no closer as Eau Claire was unable to score more than 19 points in a half.

Stout held a 39-16 halftime lead, shooting at a 56 percent clip from the floor, while keeping Eau Claire stone cold at 23 percent. It got no better for the Blugolds as they scored only 19 points in the second half, shooting only 24 percent for the game. Stout finished at 55.8 percent, hitting 29-of-52 field goals.

Blue Devil guard Greg Chaisson (Sr, Minneapolis, Minn) paced the field with 17 points, hitting 7-of-8 shots (87 percent) from the floor and both of his free throw attempts. Chaisson matched teammates Brian Buck (Sr, Minneapolis, Minn) and John Nonemacher (Jr, Kalispell, Mont) with seven rebounds. Ryan Stangl (So, Spring Valley) chipped in 13 points as all but three Blue Devils getting into the scoring column.

Stout absolutely dominated the glass, pulling down 45 caroms to 19 for the Blugolds.

Men's Ice Hockey

BLUE DEVILS WIN ONE IN FINAL SECONDS OF CONTEST

LAKE FOREST, Ill (December 3, 2005) - In a wild finish, UW-Stout came out on top when Jack Wolgemuth (Fr, Anchorage, Alaska) scored with 15 seconds remaining in the game to give the Blue Devils a 4-3 conference win over Lake Forest Saturday afternoon.

But the win almost didn't happen.

After Lake Forest (6-7-0, 3-3-0 NCHA) scored early in the first period, Stout (7-5-0, 3-1-0) rolled off three straight goals over the first and second periods to jump out front to what would prove to not be a commanding lead.

Mike Kautz (Sr, Des Plaines, Ill) tied the score only a minute after Lake Forest opened the scoring. BJ Garczynski (Jr, Sun Prairie) got the assist.

Scott Hellquist (Jr, Bemidji, Minn) put Stout ahead two minutes into the second on assists by Jeff DeFrancesca (Jr, Mt. Prospect, Ill) and Kyle Crable (So, Bemidji, Minn). Midway through the period, Andrew Stearns (Sr, Wadena, Minn) lifted Stout to a 3-1 lead on a power play goal, with an assist by Luke Schroeder (So, Minneapolis, Minn).

But Foresters knotted the score in the third period. Chris Wilson pulled Lake Forest to within one goal with a marker at 8:27. The Foresters got the equalizer with 45 seconds left in the game after pulling their goalie. Kevin Russette got the goal in the 6-on-5.

Wolgemuth scored 30 seconds later with assists by Justin Huth (Sr, Shakopee, Minn) and Stearns. Huth took the initial shot and the puck rebounded back to Huth, who sent it over to Wolgemuth for the game winner.

Blue Devil goalie Matt Koenig (Fr, Lakeland, Minn) finished with 32 saves, including of a penalty shot with about five minutes left in the game. Forester goalie Brandon Kohuch had 30 saves.

The win keeps Stout in second place in the NCHA. The Blue Devils will host St. Scholastica, Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and will be at UW-Superior, Saturday, Dec. 10.

GREEN BAY (December 2, 2005) - St. Norbert took advantage of the power play by scoring two power play goals and outshot UW-Stout, 39-25, going on to shutout the Blue Devils, 4-0, Friday night.

The Green Knights, who moved ahead of Stout (6-5-0, 2-1-0) in the NCHA standings with the win, scored two goals in the first period, including a power play goal 16 minutes into the game. They came back two minutes later with an even strength goal.

St. Norbert took advantage of the power play again in the second period, scoring midway through the period for their third goal. Midway through the third period, St. Norbert got their final goal.

Updated: December 5, 2005