#10 Wartburg Pulls Away For Win

WAVERLY, Iowa -- An 18-3 run spanning the end of the first quarter to midway through the second allowed the Wartburg College women's basketball team to break open what had been a 10-10 tie with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Saturday night.  The Knights maintained a double-digit lead on its way to a 78-55 home victory.  Wartburg, ranked #10 in the d3hoops.com preseason poll, improved to 3-0 on the young season.  The Pioneers fell to 2-2.

As they had in their previous two outings this season, the Knights came out looking to control the pace of the game utilizing pressure defense.  The Pioneers were able to take care of the ball early, breaking the pressure and taking the ball strong to the basket.  Five of the team's first 10 points came from the free throw line.  A switch to a 2-2-1 full court press though proved to be pivotal for Wartburg as it served as a springboard for the Knights holding Platteville scoreless for 14 straight possessions.  Point guard Lily Guerra (So./Yorkville, Ill.) finally ended the stretch by knocking down a three-pointer but Wartburg had built a 21-13 lead.

At halftime, the Knights advantage had grown to 41-22 thanks largely to WC turning 15 Platteville turnovers into a 15-0 edge in "Fast Break Points".  Platteville did get production from its bench, outscoring the Knights' bench, 14-12.  Eight of those came courtesy of freshman Brynlee Nelson (Fr./Fennimore, Wis.).

In the second half, the Pioneers cut its turnovers in half, hit 11-of-12 free throws, and maintained its advantage in bench scoring, 30-28.  They were unable to put a dent into their deficit however as Wartburg, after dominating the paint in the first half, got hot from outside.  By the time the final horn sounded, the Knights had reached double-figures in three-point makes for the third time on the young season (11-33).

After being held scoreless in the first half, Pioneer forward Maiah Domask (Sr./Waupun, Wis.) bounced back in the second, hitting 9-10 FT's on her way to a team-high 14 points to go with 9 rebounds.  Nelson finished the night with a career high 12 points on 5-6 shooting, including 2-2 from three-point range.

Platteville continues its stretch of seven straight road contests to begin the 2021-22 campaign when it travels to Illinois next Tuesday, November 23rd, to face the University of Chicago at 6p.