Pioneers take comeback road win at UW-River Falls

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (12-11, 4-8 WIAC) came back and defeated UW-River Falls (5-18, 0-12 WIAC) 69-61 after a slow start to Saturday's game at Don Page Arena.

First half

• The Pioneers had a slow start on the road with the Falcons taking a commanding 21-7 lead after the first quarter.
• The Pioneers fought back with a 16-6 run and closed in to within four, 27-23, after five minutes into the second quarter.  
• UW-Platteville went into the half trailing 36-30.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 48.0% (12-of-25) from the floor and was a stellar 80.0% (4-of-5) from three-point territory in the half. The Falcons shot 55.6% (15-of-27) from the field and were 28.6% (2-of-7) from behind the three-point arc.

Second half

• The Pioneers took the lead for the first time of the game, 38-37 with senior Morgan Horstman's three-point basket at the 7:19 mark of the third quarter.
• The Pioneers never trailed again and extended the lead to 10 points, 57-47, by the end of the third period.
• UW-Platteville's largest lead of the night of 12 points fell at the start of the fourth quarter and the Falcons attempted a comeback with a 7-1 run to bring the score to 66-61 with 1:43 remaining in the game. However, UW-River Falls was unsuccessful as the Pioneers went 3-of-6 from the free-throw line for the 69-61 victory.
• UW-Platteville shot 52.0% (13-of-25) from the field while shooting 37.5% (3-of-8) from three-point range. UW-River Falls closed the half shooting 33.3% (8-of-24) from the field and 16.7% (1-of-6) from behind the three-point arc.

Notables 

• UW-Platteville improves to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the WIAC.
• UW-River Falls drops to 5-18 overall and 0-12 in conference play.
• The Pioneers have now reach 12 wins in a season, a best for the program since the 2014-15 season.
• Junior Maiah Domask had a team high 15 points with eight boards and one assist.
• Sophomore Kaite Asche followed closely behind with 14 points, six rebounds, and one assist.
• Horstman tallied 13 points and six boards.
• The Pioneers had 34 points from the reserves while UW-River Falls' bench totaled two points.
• Overall, UW-Platteville shot 50.0% (25-of-50) from the field with 53.8% (7-of-13) from three-point territory. UW-River Falls shot 45.1% (23-of-51) from the field and was 23.1% (3-of-18) from behind the three-point arc.
• The Pioneers finished 66.7% (12-of-18) from the free throw line while the Falcons were 70.6% (12-of-17). 

Remarks from Coach McNiff

After Saturday's comeback and win, head coach Kelly McNiff said, "After the first quarter, I told the girls to hit the 'reset' button before starting the second quarter. We continued to battle and chipped away at River Falls' lead. I'm proud of my team and the character that they showed in the comeback game."

Up next

The Pioneers return home on Wednesday, Feb. 19 against UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m. on Bo Ryan Court in the Think Pink, pink out game.