Women’s Basketball Outlast the Spartans in a Nail-Biter

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball squeaked out a nail-biter, 64-62, over Dubuque Saturday afternoon at the Loras College Tournament.

The Pioneers improved to 1-1, while the Spartans fell to 1-1. Senior Elizabeth Lawinger led Pioneers for the second-straight game with 14 points and three assists. Sophomore Alyssa Krajco scored a career-high 12 points and added four rebounds, while senior Ashley Henry and junior Kim Wellnitz netted eight points apiece. Dubuque's Mollie Whiting registered half of the team's points, 31 points, and recorded a team-best five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

With 12 seconds left, Whiting made a layup putting Dubuque within three, 62-59, but Lawinger iced the game with a pair of free throws with eight ticks left. UD's Kayla Springer nailed a desperation three-pointer with two  seconds left as the Pioneers took the 64-62 victory.

The Pioneers took their first lead of the game, 12-10, with 11:30 left in the first-half and scored five unanswered to take a seven point advantage with just over eight minutes left in the period. UW-Platteville answered every Dubuque attack and grabbed a 30-23 lead at the halfway point. Whiting scored all but two of the Spartan's field goals, while the Pioneers played a better overall half with eight different players scoring.

In the second-half, the Spartans quickly cut UW-Platteville's lead to three, 30-27, but the Pioneers responded by taking their largest lead of the game on a 12-4 run, 42-31, at the 15:17 mark. The Spartans brought their deficit to a single point two times in the final 12 minutes of the game but the Pioneers kept bending but never broke. 

UW-Platteville welcomes 2-0 Luther College on Tuesday in the Pioneers' home opener at 6:00 p.m. on Bo Ryan Court.