Pioneers Close Out Regular Season with Road Loss

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (2-6) fell 69-48 to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Friday night in Mitchell Hall.

A momentum-changing 11-0 run late in the first half by the Eagles coupled with the Pioneers losing the battle in rebounds on the night (46-23) led to the Pioneers splitting the season with UW-La Crosse after Wednesday night's 68-58 victory on Bo Ryan Court.

Allison Heckert (Jr./Whitewater, Wis.) knocked down a 3-point basket with 3:06 left in the first quarter to give the Pioneers an 11-10 lead. Caitlyn Tipton (Sr./Rosendale, Wis.) extended the lead to 16-12 with just over a minute remaining in the first frame with another 3-pointer. A layup by Lara Anger (So./DeKalb, Ill.) extended the Pioneers lead and the Eagles trailed 18-15 at the quarter.

A layup by Maiah Domask (Sr./Waupun, Wis.) at 7:04 in the second quarter made the Pioneers' largest lead of the night 25-17, but Jessa Peterson's 3-point basket with 1:26 left in the half gave the Eagles a 32-27 lead at halftime following UW-La Crosse's late first half run.

UW-La Crosse pulled away in the third quarter to lead 51-38 with one frame left in the game and extended their lead by eight, 69-48 before the final buzzer.

Tipton had a team high 13 points along with six rebounds. Domask added double digits with 10 points while pulling down six boards.

Overall, UW-Platteville shot 31.4 percent (16-51) from the field making 18.8 percent (3-16) from 3-point territory. UW-La Crosse finished 45.5 percent (25-55) from the floor with 36.4 percent (4-11) from beyond the 3-point arc.

 The Pioneers held the advantage from the free throw line shooting 86.7 percent (13-15) to the Eagles' 78.9 percent (15-19).

The Pioneers will return to action on Monday, March 1 when they travel to UW-Eau Claire for the First Round of the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. For more information, visit the championship website by clicking here.