Offense Goes Silent in Second Quarter

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. --  The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team shot 71% on 12-17 shooting in the second quarter of its game against conference rival University of Wisconsin-Platteville Wednesday night.  The scoring outburst broke open what had been a 16-15 lead for Platteville at the end of one quarter and ultimately led to the Blugolds securing a 73-53 victory in the final regular season game for both teams.  The win for the Bluegolds allows them to finish the season with a mark of 18-7 overall and 9-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  The Pioneers wind up with a final mark of 10-14 overall and 3-11 in the WIAC.

It was a different story early on.  The Blugolds came out of the gates shooting 35% while the Pioneers crashed the offensive boards.  Platteville took full advantage of four offensive rebounds and scored eight second chance points to lead them to a 16-15 advantage after one.  Allison Heckert (Sr./Whitewater, Wis.) led the charge by knocking down two three-pointers and getting fouled while shooting a third.

Things changed quickly in the second.  Blugold guard Jade Ganski began the quarter by knocking down a three-pointer to give Eau Claire back the lead.  Later, Tyra Boettcher hit another three to put UWEC up 27-20.  That bucket began a 21-0 run that stretched the final 6:11 of the first half and leaked into the opening minute of the third quarter.

The Pioneers were able to get back on track, even outscoring Eau Claire in the second half, 33-30.  But the damage had been done and they were unable to significantly dig out of the 25 point second quarter hole.

Heckert would wind up knocking down 4 three-pointers on her way to a career-high 16 points.

Maiah Domask (Sr./Waupun, Wis.) entered the final regular season game of her career needing just eight rebounds to notch 1000 for her career.  The forward got her eight and one to spare to become just the third UW-Platteville women's basketball player to register 1000 rebounds for a career.

Platteville's focus will quickly shift to the first round of the WIAC tournament.  After Wednesday's game, seeding was determined amongst conference coaches and administrators.  In the first round, the Pioneers will travel to UW-La Crosse on Friday to face the Eagles.  The teams split its season series with each winning at home.  Back on December 1st, the Pioneers got the better of La Crosse, 64-48.  The Eagles took the rematch on January 26th, 64-53.  Gametime for the Round 1 showdown is set for 7pm.