Pioneers Fall On The Road To UW-Stout

MENOMONIE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (8-7, 1-3) fell 72-61 on the road to UW-Stout (12-3, 4-0) on Saturday afternoon inside the Johnson Fieldhouse in Menomonie.

UW-Stout scored the first 10 points of the game to lead by double digits just over five minutes into the first quarter. Junior Sarah Mueller scored the first five Pioneer points in the game to cut the deficit in half, but the Blue Devils extended the lead back to 10 late in the quarter. UW-Platteville trailed 17-11 at the end of the quarter as freshman Blair Watters and Mueller each scored a pair of points in the closing minutes. In the second, freshman Ella Mackiewicz got the Pioneers within four twice, but UW-Stout kept the visitors from getting any closer. In the closing seconds of the half, freshman Madalyn Reichmann capped a five-point UW-Platteville run to cut the lead down to three at 29-26 heading into the break.

The Pioneers maintained pace with the Blue Devils early in the third quarter as buckets by Mackiewicz and sophomore Brynlee Nelson put them within one. UW-Stout slowly increased the lead back to nine late in the quarter, but freshman Macey Banasik knocked down a jumper to make it 46-39 after three. Nelson got the Pioneers back within six early in the final frame with a three, but UW-Platteville was unable to get any closer in the fourth, as the Blue Devils won 72-61.

Nelson scored a team-high 18 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting. Freshman Allison Wokatsch added a season-high 11 points off the bench as she converted all six attempts from the free throw line. Watters grabbed seven rebounds to pace the team, while Mackiewicz and Wokatsch each recorded four. The Pioneers shot 36.4 percent (20-of-55) from the floor but was strong from the line, going 17-of-21 (81.0 percent).

Raegan Sorenson scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Blue Devils, while Amanda Giesen finished with 12 points. The duo tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven, while Anna Mutch finished with 11 points and five assists. UW-Stout shot 49.0 percent (24-of-49) from the field and went 21-of-34 (61.8 percent) from the free throw line.

The Pioneers return home on Wednesday, January 11 as they host No. 9-ranked UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.