Warhawks Defense Puts Clamps on Pioneers

Whitewater, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Whitewater guard Maggie Trautsch had 5 of her team's 21 steals leading the Warhawks women's basketball team to a 56-35 win over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.  The Pioneers struggled putting up points, failing to reach double digits in any of the first three quarters.  The loss dropped Platteville to 9-13 overall (2-10 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) while the #8 Warhawks improved to 21-2 (11-1 in the WIAC).

A full court pressure defense by the Warhawks stymied the Pioneers from the start.  Platteville endured turnover stretches of five-straight and eight straight possessions in the first half alone leading to Whitewater doubling them up, 32-16 at the break.  The Pioneers half-court defense was a bright spot, keeping the the Warhawks well below its 72.8 ppg average.  Ultimately the defense could not keep up with the extra possessions Whitewater earned via turnovers.  UWW took 76 shots from the floor compared to just 48 by the Pioneers.

Allison Heckert (Sr./Whitewater, Wis.) led Platteville scorers with 12 points on 4-5 FG shooting including a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.  Teammate Maiah Domask (Sr./Waupun, Wis.) led all players with 16 rebounds.

The Pioneers return to the court Saturday, February 12th, for its final home game of the regular season.  Platteville will take on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls at 3p.  It will be Senior Night as the team will celebrate the careers of Domask, Taylor Gilbert (Sr./Kingston, Ill.), and Aspyn Stewart (Stockton, Ill.).