Women's Basketball comeback falls short at Luther

DECORAH, Iowa – Luther College's depth was too much for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's women's basketball team to handle, as the Pioneers fell 90-86, Tuesday at the Regents Center. 

The Norse's bench outscored the Pioneers' bench 33-15. Luther also out rebounded the Pioneers on the offensive end 17-6 with an 16-7 second chance points advantage. 

Luther tallied eight scorers with seven or more points, including four in double-figures. The Norse's Taylor Johnson scored a game-high 23 points, while Lyndsi Woolems added 13 points. Nellie Nelson and Logan Hjerleid each netted 11 points. 

The Pioneers were led by junior Rachel Cropp, who recorded her first career double-double, with 21 points and a career-best 10 rebounds. Junior Stacy Clark was a rebound away from her own double-double, as she netted 18 points and grabbed nine boards. Junior Alyssa Krajco added 17 points, and senior Melissa Carmody scored 13 to round out the Pioneers' double-digit scorers. 

Midway through the first half, Luther scored six unanswered, taking a 16-11 lead at the 12:18 mark. The Norse never allowed the Pioneers to make a run and took a 42-37 advantage into halftime. 

The Pioneers came out of the break and made two three-pointers in the first two minutes to help regain the lead, 45-44. Luther retook control of the game two possessions later and went on to take a 12-point lead, 64-52, with just over 12 minutes to play.  The Pioneers played a very strong final five minutes of the game, and made it a one-possession game, 88-86, with a minute to play. UW-Platteville earned a stop the next time down but couldn't find a bucket on its final possession, as Luther secured the win with a pair of free throw with 10 seconds left, 90-86. 

The Pioneers return to Bo Ryan Court on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. when they host Mount Mercy.