Pioneers edged 70-67 in opener

The UW-Platteville women's basketball team was edged 70-67 by St. Norbert in its 2017-18 season opener Friday in UW-River Falls' brand new Don Page Arena.

The Green Knights figured to provide a good test for a UW-Platteville squad that returned six of its seven leading scorers from last year's 6-19 campaign. St Norbert reached the NCAA III tournament a year ago and finished 20-6. Friday's win was the 700th in history for the Green Knights, who have an overall mark of 700-309 in their 44th year.

The Pioneers never led, but were never out of the game either. Rachel Emendorfer's three-point shot brought UW-Platteville within 68-67 with nine seconds to play, but SNC's Regan Carmichael  hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left to secure the win. The Pioneers' desperation three-point attempt was off at the buzzer.

Carmichael led all scorers with 24 points. Megan Horstman paced the Pioneers with 21 points, while Allison Prestegaard had 16 points and five blocks, and Kassie Hansen scored 12.

The Pioneers are back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. in River Falls to face St. Olaf.

By Paul Erickson, Director, UW-Platteville Communications, 608.342.1194, pr@uwplatt.edu