Strong finishes carry UWW
February 11, 2009
UW-Platteville held a 15-point first-half lead, but 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater and center Tiffany Morton rallied for a 69-56 victory Wednesday on Bo Ryan Court.
The Pioneers jumped out to a 13-4 early lead and extended it to as much as 32-17. The Warhawks scored the final 14 points of the half and trailed just 32-31 at the break.
"We were excited when we came out with that lead, but I think we lost our gas towards the end and kind of let our defense fall apart a couple of times, and they took advantage of it" said junior guard Stacia Nemitz.
The teams went back-and-forth until Meghan Schmidt gave the Warhawks the lead for good at 46-45 on a jump shot with 10:52 remaining. The Pioneers were within 55-53 before the Warhawks closed the game with a 14-3 run.
The Warhawks, 11th in the coaches poll and 12th in the D3hoops.com rankings, improved to 19-3 overall and 10-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference behind Morton's 27 points and 17 rebounds. The Pioneers fell to 7-14, 4-9.
Nemitz led the Pioneers with her second double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. She also dished out five assists, blocked a shot and made a steal while only committing one turnover. Dru Schneider added 10 points for the Pioneers.
"I'm just glad I helped the team out," Nemitz said. "I tried to drive and get to the line and then in the second half I played more of the point guard. My main goal was to take care of the ball because that's what we struggled with in the first game. We did a very good job with their press this time. We were very happy with that part of it."
Morton tied the Warhawk team record for career double-doubles with her 27th. She also blocked four shots and had three assists.
"She is a beast," Nemitz said. "I ran into her a couple of times, and she is just a big girl. She's a good player, though; give her credit. We just couldn't stop her."
Dana Thompson made all five of her shots and added 10 points for UWW.
The Pioneers play host to UW-Superior Saturday at 3 p.m. on senior day. Prior to the contest, the Pioneers will salute their lone senior, Lisa Grantman, who has scored 983 career points. She will be bidding to become the eighth player in UWP history to reach 1,000.
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