Pioneers Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Short Against Falcons

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (8-9, 1-5 WIAC) nearly overcame a large deficit in the second half, but the fourth-quarter rally fell just short in a 61-51 road loss to UW-River Falls (12-5, 2-4 WIAC) on Saturday afternoon inside Page Arena.

The Falcons started quickly, scoring the first seven points of the game to take the early lead. The Pioneers defense tightened midway through the first as UW-River Falls only scored two points the final five minutes of the quarter. Trailing by five entering the second, the Pioneers cut the deficit down to one before later tying the game at 15 on a pair of free throws by junior Sarah Mueller. The two teams traded buckets for the next couple minutes before the Falcons closed the half with a six-point run to lead 27-21 heading into the break.

Freshman Ella Mackiewicz scored the first five Pioneer points in the third to bring the game back within two, but UW-River Falls answered with a seven-point run to extend the lead to 35-26 midway through the quarter. The Falcons pushed the lead to 14 by the end of the quarter and entered the final frame up 44-30.

The UW-Platteville offense nearly erased the deficit with a 13-point run to start the fourth, and the Pioneers trailed 44-43 with 6:46 left to play. The three-point shot was falling for the Pioneers in the early goings of the quarter, as Mueller and freshman Allison Wokatsch combined for three triples. UW-Platteville stayed within one possession for the next couple minutes, but an eight-point Falcons run gave the hosts a 10-point lead with less than a minute to play. UW-River Falls scored the final three points of the game to win 61-51.

Mackiewicz scored a team-high 11 points while Mueller added 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting. Sophomore Brynlee Nelson and freshman Blair Watters tied for the team lead in rebounds with five each. The Pioneers shot 34.0 percent (17-of-50) from the field and 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from deep. UW-Platteville was strong from the free throw line, shooting 80.0 percent (12-of-15).

Macy Nilsen provided much of the scoring for the Falcons, scoring a game-high 22 points. Zoey Buchan pitched in with 16 points off the bench. UW-River falls shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) in the game and 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from three. The Falcons also converted 80.0 percent (20-of-25) of attempts from the free throw line.

The Pioneers will remain on the road as they head to UW-Whitewater on Wednesday at 7 p.m.