Pioneers Downed By Pointers Saturday

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (4-5, 1-1 WIAC) was unable to overcome a second-half deficit in a 59-53 loss to UW-Stevens Point (6-2,1-1 WIAC) on Saturday afternoon inside Berg Gym.

Junior Sarah Mueller put together a strong opening quarter for the Pioneers, tallying eight points as the score sat even at 12 after the first 10 minutes. UW-Stevens Point pulled ahead by five points early in the second but jump shots by sophomore Macey Banasik and senior Allison Heckert got UW-Platteville back within one. The score was tied at 28 with under a minute to play in the first half, but the Pointers converted a pair of free throws with just a second left to take a 30-28 lead into halftime.

UW-Stevens Point went on a 12-0 run early in the second half to hold a 44-31 advantage with under four minutes remaining in the third quarter. A jump shot by Mueller ended the run and started a 7-0 stretch for UW-Platteville to close the third. The Pointers lead reached double digits to open the fourth, before six unanswered points by sophomore Brynlee Nelson cut the deficit down to five at 49-44 with 4:21 remaining. UW-Stevens Point responded and pushed its lead back to 10, but the Pioneers scored seven straight to trail 54-51 with less than a minute to play. The Pointers held off the Pioneers in the final win to win 59-53.

Mueller scored a season-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting while also grabbing a team-high nine rebounds. Nelson added 11 points as the Pioneers shot 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the floor in the game.

The Pointers were led by 22 points from Alexa Thompson who totaled 11 rebounds for the double-double. Gabby Gawlitta added 14 and Jamie Pfeifer finished with 11. UW-Stevens Point shot 35.8 percent (19-of-53) and were strong from the free throw line, converting 84.2 percent (16-of-19).

UW-Platteville returns home on Wednesday, Dec. 7 when it hosts Loras at 7 p.m. for Mental Health Awareness Night.