Men's basketball (13-3 overall, 4-3 WIAC): The Pointers started the week with a record-breaking performance against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls at the Karges Center. Josh Iserloth (Plymouth) scored a school record 40 points thanks in large part to an eight-for-eight three-point shooting exhibition as the Pointers downed the Falcons 94-79. As a team the Pointers shot 63.5 percent from the field, and buried 17 three-pointers, also a team record.
However, the hot shooting of the Pointers came to a momentary halt on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Quandt Fieldhouse. The Pointers managed to shoot just 38 percent from the field and two-for-19 from the three-point line as they fell to UW-Oshkosh 63-54.
In addition to his 40-point game, Iserloth scored 15 against UW-Oshkosh. Jason Kalsow (Huntley, Ill.) had another strong week, recording 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists against the Falcons, and 15 points versus UW-Oshkosh. Ron Nolting (Preston, Iowa) scored a career-high 19 points against UW-River Falls.
This week, the Pointers face a couple of teams threatening to move up from the bottom half of the conference. On Wednesday, Jan. 16, UW-Stevens Point (UW-SP) was scheduled to travel to UW-Superior to face a Yellowjacket team that lost its first five WIAC games, but has since beaten UW-Stout and conference co-leader UW-La Crosse. UW-Stout comes to Stevens Point at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, looking to climb above .500 in conference play.
Women's basketball (15-1 overall, 6-1 WIAC): For the second consecutive year, the Pointers traveled to UW-Oshkosh to face a ranked Titans team, and escaped with a thrilling overtime victory. In a tense game that saw 21 ties and no team hold larger than a five-point lead, the Pointers pulled out a 79-75 victory. Andrea Kraemer (Waukesha) scored a career-high 22 points, including four three-pointers and two game-clinching free throws with four seconds remaining. Cassandra Heuer (Two Rivers) came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points.
On Wednesday, Jan. 9, the Pointers downed UW-River Falls 65-45, making the Falcons the third straight opponent they had held to 45 points or less. Kari Groshek (Rosholt) notched a double-double to lead the Pointers, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Amie Schultz (Appleton) had 10 points and five assists against UW-River Falls. In addition to her double-double, Groshek added 13 points at UW-Oshkosh.
This week, the Pointers need a victory to move into a tie for first place in the WIAC when they play UW-Superior at Berg Gymnasium. If the Pointers can get past the Yellowjackets on Wednesday, Jan. 16, it will set up a head-to-head meeting for the conference lead at UW-Stout on Saturday, Jan. 19. UW-Stout handed the Pointers their only loss of the season thus far, 72-71, on Dec. 8.
Men's hockey (10-7 overall, 3-3 NCHA): The Pointers swept a nonconference home-and-home series with the Marian College Sabres, taking both games by a score of 5-3. On Friday, Jan. 11, in Fond du Lac, Joel Marshall (Madison) and Zenon Kochan (Madison) scored third period goals with less than five minutes remaining to break a 3-3 tie and seal the victory.
On Saturday, Jan. 12, Ryan Kirchhoff (Fairway, Kan.) scored a goal and had two assists during a run of four unanswered goals that lifted the Pointers to the win. Mike Brolsma (Appleton) found the back of the net twice in Saturday's game at Stevens Point and once on Friday. For his efforts, Brolsma was named NCHA Player of the Week.
The Pointers return to NCHA action next weekend when they play a home-and-home series with the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds. The team plays at Eau-Claire at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, and hosts the Blugolds at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.
The Pointers would like to get back above .500 in the conference against the Blugolds who are 8-7-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the NCHA.
Women's hockey (15-1 overall, 7-1 NCHA): UW-SP got back to NCHA action on the weekend with a pair of games at River Falls. The Falcons gave the sixth-ranked Pointers all they could handle, but UW-SP still escaped with a pair of narrow victories. On Friday, Jan. 11, it took Ann Ninnemann's (Rosemount, Minn.) second goal of the game with 35 seconds left in overtime to give the Pointers a 3-2 victory. The Pointers had taken a 2-0 lead on a goal by Jackie Schmitt (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Ninnemann's first tally only to see the Falcons tie the game and force overtime. On Saturday, Jan. 19, Emily Teachout scored with just under 10 minutes to play and goaltender Diane Sawyer (Stillwater, Minn) made it hold up with 20 saves.
The Pointers also ran their record against Minnesota teams to 8-0 with a 5-0 win over St. Olaf on Tuesday. Ninnemann had a goal and four assists in that game and was named NCHA Player of the Week.
The Pointers host a pair of games against the Lake Forest College Foresters (5-8-1 overall, 1-7 NCHA) over the weekend. The games are scheduled for 5:35 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 18, and 5:05 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19.
Swimming and diving (both 3-0 in WIAC duals): The Pointers return to the pool this week and hope to maintain their perfect conference record with a WIAC dual meet at UW-River Falls at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19. The Pointers gained valuable experience during their winter training trip to Hawaii, competing against several NCAA Division I opponents at the Aileene Soule Classic in Honolulu.
Wrestling (0-3 overall, 0-2 WIAC): The Pointers were scheduled to travel to UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday, Jan. 16, night still looking for their first dual match victory of the season. UW-Oshkosh entered the match with a 1-3 WIAC dual match record. Yan White (Antigo) is ranked fourth in the country at 197 pounds.