Pioneers fall to No. 6 Warhawks

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (9-8, 1-5 WIAC) lead though the beginning of the second half, but eventually fell 67-52 to No. 6 nationally ranked UW-Whitewater (16-1, 6-0 WIAC) Wednesday night at Kachel Gymnasium. Senior Morgan Horstman put up 19 points while junior Maiah Domask recorded her third consecutive double-double to bring her season total to seven.

First half

• The two teams kept things close to start out the night with neither team leading by more than one possession until a three-pointer from UW-Whitewater's Rebekah Schumacher gave the Warhakws a 15-10 lead with less than a minute left in the first quarter. The Pioneers closed out the first half with a made layup to trail 15-12.
• A fast break and layup by Horstman shortly followed by a free-throw tied the game 15-15 at the 7:47 mark.
• The Pioneers lead by as much as seven and entered halftime leading the nationally ranked Warhawks 28-23.
• Horstman hit double-digits after one half with 11 points while shooting 71.4% (5-of-7) in from the field in the half.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 37.9% (11-of-29) from the field while the Warhawks shot 34.5% (10-of-29).

Second half

• The Pioneers kept the energy alive to start the second half and took their largest lead of the game, 35-25 at the 8:22 mark of the third period.
• The Warhawks battled back with a 10-0 run and tied things 35-35 with 4:56 remaining.
• Keeping it a one-possession game, UW-Whitewater would take the lead for the last time with 3:14 remaining in the quarter and the Warhawks led 43-40 going into the fourth quarter as neither team scored in the final two minutes of the third period.
• While the Pioneers kept within one possession to start the fourth quarter, the Warhawks pushed their lead to double-digits by midway through the quarter and tallied a second-straight quarter with 20-plus points to close out the game 67-52.
• UW-Platteville shot 22.2% (6-of-27) from the field while UW-Whitewater shot 51.9% (14-of-27) in the half.

Notables 

• UW-Platteville is 9-8 overall and 1-5 in the WIAC.
• No. 6 UW-Whitewater improved to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the league.
• Horstman dished out a team high 19 points, eight rebounds, and one assist in the contest. The Pioneer is just the third athlete this season to score 19 points in one night against the Warhawks.
• Domask's double-double included 12 points and 11 boards.
• Sophomore Aspyn Stewart hit double digits as a first responder off the bench with a career high 10 points.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 30.4% (17-of-56) from the field with 27.3% (3-of-11) from three-point territory. UW-Whitewater closed the night shooting 42.8% (24-of-56) from the field and was made just 1-of-11 attempts from behind the three-point arc.
• The Pioneers finished 51.7% (15-of-29) from the free throw line while the Warhawks shot 81.8% (18-of-22). 

Remarks from Coach McNiff

After the game, head coach Kelly McNiff said, "There are a lot of good things to take away from tonight. We had a lead at halftime and we were within one possession going into the fourth quarter. However, in the end, it's still a loss. We need some leaders to emerge, espessially when we stray from the game plan or we start to panic. Someone needs to step up and right the ship." Looking ahead, McNiff said, " Tomorrow is a new day and will use it to get better in all aspects."

Up next

The Pioneers return home Saturday, Jan. 25 against UW-River Falls on Alumni Day with game time set for 3 p.m. following the Alumni Game at 11 a.m. on Bo Ryan Court.