Pioneers unable to rebound from second half slow start against Titans

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (8-5, 0-2 WIAC) dropped its first home WIAC contest of the season 63-45 to the Titans of UW-Oshkosh (8-5, 1-1 WIAC). After a hard fought first half, the Pioneers led 30-27, but a low scoring third quarter proved too much to overcome Wednesday night on Bo Ryan Court.

First half

• The Pioneers played a strong first half and after one quarter of play, the teams were tied 14-14 with the Pioneers shooting a game high 46.7% (7-of-15) from the field while the Titans shot 40.0% (6-of-15) from the field.
• The second quarter saw five lead changes with the Pioneers securing the 30-27 lead as the teams went to the locker rooms.
• The Pioneers held the WIAC's leading scorer Leah Porath to just four points in the first half.  
• Overall, the Pioneers shot 45.2% (14-of-31) from the field while UW-Oshkosh finished the half shooting 38.5% (10-of-26).

Second half

• The Titans dished out the first 13 points of the second half to take a 40-30 lead.
• Sophomore Allison Heckert made her second of two free throws with 3:32 remaining in the third quarter. The Pioneers would score once more in the period with senior Morgan Horstman dropping in her second of two free throws.
• UW-Platteville looked to overcome the 47-32 Titan advantage at the start of the fourth quarter, but UW-Oshkosh's momentum from the previous period carried over as the Titans added 16 points to the Pioneers' 13 points.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 20.8% (5-of-24) from the field while the Titans shot 57.7% (15-of-26) from the field.

Notables 

• UW-Platteville is 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the WIAC.
• The Titans improved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
• The Pioneers held the WIAC's leading scorer, Porath, to just 11 points on the night after she entered the game averaging 19.7 points per game.
• Heckert finished with a team high 10 points, pulled down four boards, and tallied two assists.
• Horstman followed closely behind with nine points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
• Senior Rachel Emendorfer banked up team highs with four assists and three steals.
• UW-Platteville shot 34.5% (19-of-55) from the field and 14.3% (2-of-14) from three-point territory. UW-Oshkosh shot 48.1% (25-of-52) from the field and 26.3% (5-of-19) from behind the three-point arc.
• The Pioneers finished 55.6% (5-of-9) from the free throw line while the Titans shot 80.0% (8-of-10). 

Remarks from Coach McNiff

After the game head coach Kelly McNiff said, "We are making strides.  I thought we played fantastic in the first half.  Our players executed the game plan and a lot of good things happened."

McNiff went on to say, "We came out of the halftime break a little lax and Oshkosh made us pay for it.  We have to be better at challenging each other in the day-to-day work: drills, springs, executing plays, etc. It's a process and we will keep working at it."

Up next

The Pioneers hit the road this weekend for UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, Jan. 11 with tip off set for 5 p.m. in the Zorn Arena.