Kling Hits Game-Winning Three-Pointer at River Falls

Photo courtesy of UW-River Falls Sports Information

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Junior Barb Kling's second-chance three-pointer with 0.7 remaining secured the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team's (8-5, 1-1 WIAC) 73-71 road win at UW-River Falls (9-4, 0-2 WIAC) Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons were quick out of the gates in Page Arena, but a three-pointer by senior Sarah Mueller followed by sophomore Madalyn Reichmann's layup had the Pioneers and Falcons tied at 11 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter. UW-River Falls led 18-15 at the quarter break, but a 13-point run late in the 2^nd quarter gave the Falcons a 42-33 advantage at the half.

The Pioneers returned from halftime for what would be their strongest quarter. UW-Platteville started chipping away at the nine-point deficit and with 6:14 to go in the quarter, junior Brianna Prieve's three-pointer cut the Falcons' lead to five. Freshman Tatum Weir added back-to-back jump shots and it was another three-pointer by Prieve who tied the game 52-52 with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter. The streak continued and layup by Mueller at 1:50 extended the Pioneers' run to 10-0.

UW-Platteville led 61-55 going into the fourth quarter and held the lead through the first seven minutes. By the 2:43 mark, the Falcons had closed in within two-points and with 0:40 to go, UW-River Falls tied the game 70-70. On the inbound, a Pioneer foul sent the Falcons to the free-throw line. Karleigh Creasey missed the first and made the second to give the Falcons a one-point lead. The Pioneers called timeout and with 10 seconds left, missed a layup but an offensive rebound by Kling gave the Pioneers one final chance. Junior Brynlee Nelson  fed the ball to Kling and the junior drilled the game-winner from the corner to give UW-Platteville the 73-71 go-ahead.

Three Pioneers hit double figures in the game with Reichmann leading the way with 17 points. Mueller and sophomore Ella Mackiewicz each added 13. Kling had a game-high eight rebounds. The Pioneers shot 42.2 percent (27-of-64) and 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three-point territory. UW-Platteville added 14 points on 12 turnovers and most notably, the Pioneers shot 64.7 percent (11-of-17) in the third quarter, making 3-of-7 three-point attempts.

Creasey paced the Falcons with 16 points. UW-River Falls shot 53.2 percent (25-of-47) in the game and went 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

UW-Platteville will return to action and Bo Ryan Court on Wednesday, January 10 when they host UW-Oshkosh at 7 p.m. Its Youth Night and all youth receive free admission to the game.

*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.