No. 17 Blue Devils Hand Pioneers 67-55 Loss on the Road

MENOMONIE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team suffered a 67-55 loss on the road Saturday afternoon at No. 17 nationally ranked UW-Stout. The Blue Devils (18-5, 9-3 WIAC) strong defense early on game them a large enough lead where the Pioneers (8-15, 2-10 WIAC) were never able to close the gap.

UW-Platteville got on the board first behind senior Brynlee Nelson's made free throws, but the Blue Devils pulled ahead by double-figures midway through the first quarter.  UW-Stout led 18-9 at the quarter break and by four minutes into the second frame, the Blue Devils had pushed that lead to 18 points. Junior Alexis Strom then went on a roll, knocking in eight straight points, cutting UW-Stout's lead to 33-25 with two minutes left in the second quarter.

The Pioneers trailed 39-27 at halftime and when they returned from the break, UW-Platteville's defense came out strong, holding the Blue Devils scoreless for nearly four minutes as junior Ella Mackiewicz's three-pointer cut the home team's advantage to nine points.

UW-Stout bounced back and 6-0 run at the end gave the Blue Devils a 52-36 lead with one quarter remaining. The Pioneers had their most efficient quarter in the final 10 minutes, and a steal by sophomore Ava Hoppert, followed by made layup and then three-pointer cut the Blue Devil's lead down to seven points with 2:04 left in the game. The run proved not to be enough though as UW-Stout's made free throws pulled their lead to 12 by the end of the night.

UW-Platteville's reserves outscored the Blue Devils bench 37-8 and while the Pioneers held a slim 16-17 advantage on turnovers, they were able to score 23 points off the miscues, compared to eight points by UW-Stout. 

Strom's 10 points, including 3-of-4 from deep, off the bench was a career-best and paced the Pioneers. Mackiewicz was right behind with nine points and a team-best six rebounds.  Hoppert and senior Macey Banasik each registered three steals on the night.

The Pioneers finished averaging 30.6 percent (19-of-62) from the field, including 6-of-30 from deep. Th Blue Devils had three players in double-figures and shot 39.2 percent, including 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, UW-Platteville finished 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) while UW-Stout made 22-of-29 (75.9 percent).