Pioneers Fall By Two At Home To Pointers

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (11-8, 3-5 WIAC) dropped a 51-49 home contest to the UW-Stevens Point Pointers (9-10, 2-6 WIAC) on Saturday afternoon on Bo Ryan Court.

Both offenses shot the ball well in the opening quarter, but the Pointers held a four-point lead at 15-11 after one. After turning the ball over seven times in the first, the Pioneers settled in early in the second quarter, using a seven-point run capped off by a three by sophomore Macey Banasik to tie the game at 18. UW-Stevens Point answered with a 9-0 run to regain the lead and held a 29-24 advantage at halftime.

Sophomore Brynlee Nelson scored seven points to highlight a 9-2 run for UW-Platteville early in the third quarter that evened the score at 33. Freshman Blair Watters put the Pioneers ahead 38-37 on a triple with 2:13 left in the third and another three by sophomore Barb Kling pushed the home team ahead by four. The Pointers cut the deficit down to one at the end of the third and the score sat at 42-41. UW-Platteville went in front by four on free throws early in the fourth, but an eight-point Pointers run pushed the visitors up four with 2:31 left to play. A layup by freshman Ella Mackiewicz made it a one-point game in favor of the Pointers with less than a minute left, but the Pioneers were unable to score again as UW-Stevens Point won 51-49.

Mackiewicz scored a game-high 14 points to lead the Pioneers, while Nelson added 10 points. Junior Addison Baierl grabbed a team-high six rebounds, while freshman Madalyn Reichmann tallied five. UW-Platteville shot 33.3 percent (18-of-54) for the game and 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from the field.

Courtney Krueger led the Pointers with nine points, while Gabby Gawlitta finished with eight points and eight rebounds. UW-Stevens Point shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field and 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers remain at home and will face UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.