Second Half Surge Sends Pioneers To Win Over Foresters

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (5-2) outscored Lake Forest (1-8) 57-26 across the final two quarters to win 87-50 on Wednesday night in the team's final home non-conference contest.

After a low scoring first quarter, Lake Forest held a 13-12 led as UW-Platteville struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. The Pioneers found their shooting stroke early in second quarter with a 13-point run to lead 25-15 with six minutes to play until halftime. The Foresters cut the deficit back down to three late in the half, but UW-Platteville entered the break in front by six at 30-24.

The Pioneers dominated the third quarter, outscoring Lake Forest 31-11 while shooting 12-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. UW-Platteville put together runs of nine- and 15-points in the frame to lead 61-35 entering the final quarter. Another strong shooting fourth quarter helped UW-Platteville lead by as many as 40 points in the 87-50 win.

UW-Platteville shot 50.0 percent (33-of-66) from the floor in the win, including 67.7 percent (21-of-31) in just the second half. The team went 10-of-26 from three (38.5 percent), with a mark of 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) in the final two quarters.

Sophomore Ella Mackiewicz paced the team with a season-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She went 4-of-5 from three-point range and secured a team-high eight rebounds.

Senior Sarah Mueller (13 points) and sophomore Madalyn Reichmann (10) joined Mackiewicz in double figures while junior Brynlee Nelson added eight points and a team-high five assists.

The Pioneers defense forced Lake Forest into 22 turnovers which resulted in a 32-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Junior Barb Kling led the team with three steals.

UW-Platteville outscored the Foresters 42-22 in points in the paint and held a 17-9 advantage in second chance points. The Pioneers outrebounded Lake Forest 45-31, including 14-8 on the offensive glass.

The team hits the road for the remainder of the month, starting with a December 16 contest at Ripon. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.