Pointer notes Men's basketball (12-2 overall, 4-2 WIAC): The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) dropped a 71-69 decision to UW-Whitewater Wednesday, Jan. 14. Nick Bennett hit three free throws with 19 seconds left to tie the score at 69-69, but Whitewater got two free throws with 2.7 seconds left for the victory. Jason Kalsow led the scoring with 17, Bennett had 13 and Eric Maus added 10. The Pointers had bounced back to beat UW-La Crosse after suffering its first loss of the season on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at UW-Platteville. UW-SP thumped UW-La Crosse, 83-39, as Nick Bennett of Stevens Point scored 22 points and the Pointers shot 57 percent from the field with just five turnovers. Kyle Grusczynski scored 15 points in his first start of the season. At 4-1 in the WIAC, the Pointers hold a one-game lead over UW-Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh, UW-River Falls and UW-Stout. UW-SP will play at UW-Superior on Saturday. Women's basketball (14-1 overall, 5-1 WIAC): UW-SP rebounded from their first loss of the season with an 89-67 win at UW-La Crosse on Saturday and on Tuesday with a 76-40 win over UW-Whitewater. Nechuta had 26 points and Amy Scott of Rosholt notched 23 points in Saturday's win at UW-La Crosse. Tara Schmitt totaled 14 points and Kraemer added 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Pointers beat the Eagles for the eighth straight time. Against Whitewater, Nechuta became the 12th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, scoring 12. The Pointers jumped out to a 42-16 halftime lead, with 27 of those points coming off turnovers. Schmitt led the scoring with 16 points, Scott had 13 and Cassandra Heuer also had 12. Men's hockey (10-4-1 overall, 3-1 NCHA): UW-SP opened the second half of its season with a 4-2 non-conference win over Milwaukee School of Engineering on Friday and the Pointers get back to conference play with a pair of home games this weekend. The Pointers opened up a 2-0 lead midway through the second period against M.S.O.E. with goals from James Jernberg and Brett Coburn. Freshman Nick Micek scored his first career goal for the game-winner with four minutes left in the second period. Ryan Kirchhoff added a third period goal for the Pointers. Ryan Scott of Plover had 21 saves in extending his unbeaten streak to six games. UW-SP will host St. Scholastica on Friday and UW-Superior on Saturday in NCHA contests. The Pointers are in a four-way tie for first place in the conference with a 3-1 record along with UW-Superior, UW-River Falls and St. Norbert. Women's hockey (9-2-3 overall, 6-0 NCHA): UW-SP wrapped up its grueling eastern trip with a 1-1-2 record, tying the top two teams in the latest national poll. The schedule doesn't get any easier, however, as the fourth-ranked Pointers travel to seventh-ranked UW-Superior this weekend for a key two-game series featuring the top two teams in the NCHA. The Pointers opened the trip with a 1-1 tie against second-ranked Plattsburgh State (N.Y.) as Liz Goergen scored with 14:05 left to tie the game. The Pointers allowed a goal earlier in the period to snap their streak of 310 minutes, 11 seconds without allowing a goal. Junior Ann Ninnemann recorded her second career hat trick in a 5-1 win over 10th-ranked Williams (Mass.). Tracy Truckey and Jackie Schmitt both added goals in the win. Truckey and Chris Hanson both scored in the final three minutes against sixth-ranked Middlebury (Vt.), but it was too late as the Pointers lost 3-2. Truckey scored for the third straight game on Sunday and Becky Humphreys scored with 5:57 left to tie the game in a 2-2 tie with two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Elmira (N.Y.). Amy Statz played every minute in goal and allowed just seven goals while making 90 saves in the four games. Swimming (Men and Women both 3-0 in WIAC duals): The Pointers recently concluded their two-week training trip in Hawaii. Their next meet will be the annual Get to the Point Invitational in Stevens Point on Jan. 23-24. Wrestling (3-1 overall, 2-0 WIAC): UW-SP took its first dual meet loss of the season on Saturday in a 37-4 defeat to defending national champion and second-ranked Wartburg (Iowa). Cody Koenig posted the Pointers' only victory and improved to 18-1 for the season with a 12-4 major decision win at 174 pounds. Senior Yan White was dealt his first loss in 10 matches this season with a 5-3 loss at 197 pounds. The sixth-ranked Pointers will take on Concordia (Wis.) on Friday in a non-conference dual meet. The match will be contested at a neutral site in Westby.