Pioneers fall to 14th ranked Pointers, 67-48

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team suffered a 67-48 conference loss to coach Megan Wilson's alma mater, UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday night at Williams Fieldhouse.

Wilson's Pioneers got off to a slow start making just 3 of 13 shots in the opening quarter and trailed 13-6 after the first period.

UW-Platteville regrouped in the next 10 minutes of play and hung with the 14th-ranked Pointers into the third quarter, pulling within four points at 35-31 on a jumper by junior Elisa Bilderback (Platteville) three minutes into the second half.

But the Pointers went on a 20-7 run over the next 11 minutes to slowly pull away. The lead grew as large as 20 points on two occasions in the final three minutes.

The 14th-ranked Pointers (12-2, 3-0 WIAC) dominated the paint outscoring the host Pioneers 32-20 inside and held a 41-31 rebounding advantage, including 17-5 on the offensive glass.

Six-foot-2 senior center Joann Wolfenberg made 7 of 11 shots from the field and notched a double-double with game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Lexi Roland added 15 points and three rebounds for the winners.

Bilderback was the only Pioneer to reach double figures, scoring a team-high 14 points. She also grabbed four rebounds.

Freshman center Allison Prestegaard (Amboy, Ill.) finished with nine points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Freshman Lexis Macomber (Lanark, Ill.) added six points off the bench and junior guard Morgan Hartman (Rochester, Minn.) added five points and four rebounds.

The Pioneers shot well from the field, making 22 of 50 attempts (44 percent), but only got to the line for nine free throw attempts, making four, compared to 15 of 20 from the stripe by the Pointers.

UW-Platteville fell to 4-10 overall on the season and 1-2 in the WIAC. UW-Stevens Point improved to 12-2 and remained unbeaten in the WIAC at 3-0.

The Pioneers will look to rebound Saturday when they face UW-Stout  (6-8, 0-3 WIAC) at home for alumni day.The Blue Devils have lost four straight, including a 81-67 conference loss to UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday night.  Tip off is set for 7:00 p.m.