Pioneers Win West Coast Opener Over UC Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (6-3) opened its trip to California with a 62-54 road win over UC Santa Cruz (5-7) on Wednesday afternoon inside the West Field House in Santa Cruz.

A 10-2 run midway through the opening quarter helped the Pioneers get out to an 18-9 advantage after one. Ten of UW-Platteville's points in the quarter came from inside the paint and the defense held UC Santa Cruz to just 3-of-15 shooting. The lead increased to double figures early in the second, but 12 straight points by the home team evened the game at 23 with less than two minutes to play until halftime. Sophomore Allison Wokatsch ended the run with a three-point make, and a steal and score by junior Barb Kling put the Pioneers ahead 28-23 at the break.

Three-point makes by sophomore Madalyn Reichmann and junior Brynlee Nelson pushed UW-Platteville in front 34-23 early in the third quarter. The Pioneers led by as many as 17 in the frame, but UC Santa Cruz chipped away to trail 47-38 heading into the fourth. The Banana Slugs got as close as five in the final minute of play, but a triple by sophomore Ella Mackiewicz with 30 seconds left helped UW-Platteville hold on for an 62-54 win.

Mackiewicz led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown. Reichmann joined her in double figures with 13 points, while also making 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Senior Sarah Mueller posted nine points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds. Five of her rebounds came on the offensive glass.

Eighteen of the Pioneers 24 field goals were assisted, with Nelson tallying seven. UW-Platteville moved the ball especially well in the second half, with 10 assists on 12 made field goals. For the game, the Pioneers shot 35.8 percent (24-of-67) from the floor, and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers remain in Santa Cruz for the rest of the weekend, starting with a 5:30 P.M. CST contest against Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday evening.