Pioneers eliminated from WIAC Championship

MENOMONIE, Wis. - The UW-Platteville women's basketball team was eliminated from the WIAC Women's Basketball Championship by UW-Stout by a score of 81-69.  The Pioneers finished with a record of 11-15 overall (5-9 WIAC) which was the program's best finish since the 2014-15 season.

The Blue Devils built an early lead in the first quarter and led 32-23 at halftime. The Pioneers ramped up the offense and doubled their point production in the second half, averaging 23 points per quarter. The Blue Devils sealed the victory by making 16-of-18 free throws in the fourth quarter.

The Pioneers scoring leaders were sophomore Maiah Domask (21 points), junior Morgan Horstman (16 points) and sophomore Caitlyn Tipton (11 points). Domask and Tipton each led the team with seven rebounds. Horstman led the team with three steals.

In the regular season, the Pioneers went 2-0 against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout while taking 1-of-2 from UW-Eau Claire. The team scored a season-high 81 points against  UW-Eau Claire on Feb. 4. On Dec. 15 at Cornell College the Pioneers made a season-high of ten 3-pointers on 50 percent shooting (10-of-20). The Pioneers shared the ball best in a blowout 77-30 win in the Bronx over Lehman College when they had 24 assists.

The Pioneers improved at taking care of the ball throughout the season and after averaging 18.3 turnovers/game in November, the team only committed 10.3 turnovers/game in February. February also delivered the best shooting month from the field (40.4%) and the free throw line (72.6%). 

Horstman and Domask paced the offense throughout the year and averaged 14.2 and 13.6 points/game, respectively. Horstman scored her 1,000th point in the win over Stevens Point on Feb. 17. Domask led the team with 9.3 rebounds/game which led to 11 double doubles on the season. Junior Rachel Emendorfer led the team in both assists (2.4/game) and steals (1.9/game). 

This marked the most successful season for Pioneers since 2014-15 when the team finished 15-11 (8-8 WIAC) and earned the #4 seed for the WIAC Championship.