Pioneers Second Half Rally Falls Short at Ripon

RIPON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team's (5-3) second half rally fell just short in a 56-53 loss at Ripon College (5-4) on Saturday afternoon in Weiske Gymnasium. 

The Red Hawks shot out of the gates hot and pulled ahead 16-2 by midway through the first quarter. The Pioneers finished the final five minutes strong and cut Ripon's lead to 18-10 by the quarter break. 

Ripon stayed hot for the second quarter and finished the half shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) from the field. The Pioneers kept the Red Hawks second quarter spread to 20-16 and UW-Platteville trailed 38-26 at the half. 

At the start of the second half, it was the Pioneers' turn to shoot out of the gates as they used an 11-1 run to cut the Red Hawks lead to 43-41 with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Senior Sarah Mueller led the way shooting 3-of-3 from the field and making 3-of-4 free throws while sophomore Ella Mackiewicz was also a perfect 3-of-3 shooting in the frame.

Mueller's final layup of the third quarter left the Pioneers only trailing 46-44 going into the final 10 minutes.  A layup by Mackiewicz followed up by a three-pointer by junior Macey Banasik gave the Pioneers their first lead of the night with 5:26 left in the game. Mueller's made free throw extended the Pioneers lead to 52-48, but two made free throws and jump shot locked the game at 52 with three minutes to go. A layup and two more shot made at the charity line sealed 56-53 win for the Red hawks. 

Mueller led the Pioneers with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added four rebounds and one block. Mackiewicz also finished in double figure with 15 points and four boards. Sophomore Ashley Weir led the Pioneers with five rebounds. 

UW-Platteville shot 42.6 percent (20-of-47) from the floor in the game and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from beyond the arc. The Pioneers strongest shooting fell in the third quarter where they shot 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from the field. 

The Pioneers will take a break until their holiday tournament in California which starts with a 3 p.m. game on Wednesday, Dec. 27 against host UC Santa Cruz.