Pioneers Take Advantage of Experience in Exhibition Loss at UWGB

GREEN BAY, Wis. --  The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team traveled to the Kress Center Wednesday for an exhibition matchup against NCAA Division I member University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.  While the final result, a 83-48 victory for the Phoenix, may suggest a loss for the NCAA Division III program a closer look would suggest plenty of positives to come from the night.  Especially as the team prepares for its first regular season non-conference game in nearly two years coming up in a little over a week.

In the game itself, the Phoenix took advantage of some early nerves from the Pioneers to jump out to a 31-10 lead after one quarter.  After settling in, Platteville played more competitively, staying within six or less in each of the final three stanzas.

Division I vs Division III exhibition contests have become more prevalent especially in the Badger State with UWGB and the University of Wisconsin basketball programs annually taking on different opponents from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The benefit to the Division I team being that it can be used as a "tune-up" and opportunity to get all players some live game action.  The advantage for the Division III team is an introduction/reminder to the physicality and speed that awaits them in conference play given the WIAC's reputation as being one of the toughest in the nation.  There is also the experience of playing in Division I facilities against top level talent.

The Pioneers took full advantage of those opportunities on Wednesday night.

"Playing at the Kress Center was amazing," said Platteville senior guard Allison Heckert.  "I've never gotten to play on a stage like that and it was an experience I am never going to forget.  The WIAC is such a competitive conference and the physicality is unlike no other.  But, playing in Green Bay gave me a whole different understanding of what another level looks like.  I learned so much yesterday about the pace of the game, effort, and all out physicality 24/7.  I'm super proud of the girls we had yesterday and the way we fought and I can't wait to take what we learned to start our season off next week." 

Heckert's senior teammate, All-American Maiah Domask agreed.

"The experience of playing UWGB was definitely an eye opening one that allowed us as a team to see our strengths and weaknesses.  Moving forward, we know what we need to work on and I'm excited to see how we can put it into action against our next opponents.  I was proud to see how our team improved as the game went on.  After we got the first quarter nerves out, we just competed as hard as we could.  One of our team mottos is "Finish", and I think we did that to the best of our ability."

For a Division III program such as the Pioneers, the decision to schedule an exhibition vs. a Division I team is not one that is taken lightly.  A head coach wants to be sure that their team is able to see the potential benefits that go beyond a scoreboard that is unlikely to be in their favor by the end.  Platteville third year head coach, Kelly McNiff, trusted that her squad would be able to do just that when she scheduled the contest with the Phoenix and on Wednesday night that trust was rewarded.

"I'm proud of the effort displayed by our team.  There was a "no quit" attitude even after a really rough first quarter.  We came out in the second quarter free of the nerves that were present and played much more confident.  It's a valuable experience that will carry us into the regular season." -- Kelly McNiff.

Platteville will put attempt to put those lessons to use when their 2021-22 campaign begins next Friday, November 12th at the Loras (IA) College Tip-Off Tournament.  The two-day classic will start with a match-up against Bethel (MN) University at 5p.  Then Saturday, November 13th, the Pioneers will return to Lillis Court to face the host Duhawks from Loras.  Tip time for the Saturday game is slated for 4p.