Pioneers edged 59-55 in final moments by No. 4 Warhawks

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (11-11, 3-8 WIAC) had the lead with 21 seconds remaining in the game, but fell just short, 59-55, of taking down the No. 4 nationally ranked UW-Whitewater (20-2, 10-1 WIAC) Warhawks Wednesday night on Bo Ryan Court.

First half

• The Pioneers executed a big first quarter outscoring the Warhawks 18-12 and finished out the period with an 11-4 run.
• Fueling the Pioneers in the first quarter was senior Rachel Emendorfer who went 2-of-2 from three-point territory.
• The Pioneers extended their lead to 26-18 by the five-minute mark of the second quarter.
• UW-Platteville's largest lead of 10 fell at the 1:49 mark of the period when the Pioneers led the ranked Warhawks 32-22.
• UW-Whitewater chipped away with the final six points of the half and closed in on the Pioneers by 32-28 going into halftime.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 44.8% (13-of-29) from the floor and was 40.0% (4-of-10) from three-point territory in the half. The Warhawks shot 37.5% (12-of-32) from the field and were 12.5% (1-of-8) from behind the three-point arc.

Second half

• The Warhawks tied the game 35-35 two minutes into the third quarter, but the Pioneers fired back and pulled away 44-35 with 4:24 remaining in the period.
• UW-Whitewater closed out the third quarter with a 10-0 run and led the Pioneers 45-44 going into the fourth quarter.
• Neither team scored in the first five minutes of the period and it was Becky Raeder who finally snapped the cold spell with a jumper in the paint at the 4:56 mark.
• Another three-pointer from Emendorfer locked the game 47-47 with 3:43 remaining and it remained a one possession game until the 00:02 mark.
• UW-Platteville took a 55-53 lead with a layup at the 00:33 mark by junior Maiah Domask. The Warhawks' layup and one free throw gave UW-Whitewater a 56-55 lead with 00:20 left on the clock.
• A missed Pioneer layup followed by two made free throws extended the Warhawks' lead to 58-55. The Pioneers had 00:04 to set up a game-tying play, but were unsuccessful and UW-Whitewater finished with a made free throw at the 00:02 mark to make it a four-point game.
• UW-Platteville shot 26.7% (8-of-30) from the field while shooting 25.0% (2-of-8) from three-point range. UW-Whitewater closed the half shooting 26.7% (8-of-30) from the field and 20.0% (2-of-10) from behind the three-point arc.

Notables 

• UW-Platteville falls to 11-11 overall and 3-8 in the WIAC.
• No. 4 UW-Whitewater improves to 20-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play.
• The Pioneers four-point defeat by UW-Whitewater follows a three-game stretch where the Warhawks outscored their opponents on average by over 23 points per game.
• Domask recorded a second straight and 11^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds.
• Emendorfer finished with nine points and was 3-of-3 from three-point range and tallied four rebounds.
• Senior Maddy Williams dished out eight points and four boards.
• Sophomore Allison Heckert had a team high five assists.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 35.6% (21-of-59) from the field with 33.3% (6-of-18) from three-point territory. UW-Whitewater shot 32.3% (20-of-62) from the field and was 16.7% (3-of-18) from behind the three-point arc.
• The Pioneers finished 63.6% (7-of-11) from the free throw line while the Warhawks were 76.2% (16-of-21). 

Remarks from Coach McNiff

After the game, head coach Kelly McNiff said, "I'm extremely proud of the effort our players gave tonight. For the most part, they executed the defensive game plan extremely well. However, when we're playing a team as good as Whitewater, we cannot have the offensive mistakes we did tonight. With that being said, we had a chance to win in the final seconds; we just didn't execute."

Up next

The Pioneers travel to UW-River Falls on Saturday, Feb. 15 with game time set for 3 p.m.