Blugolds knock out Pioneers
February 21, 2007
For the first time in three games, UW-Platteville was left without a comeback.
UW-Eau Claire used a 15-2 run spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to beat the visiting Pioneers 73-41 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference semifinals Wednesday.
Leading 26-20, the Blugolds scored the last six points of the first period, then began the second period with a 9-2 run for a 41-22 advantage. The Pioneers, who overcame 16-point deficits to win vs. UW-Oshkosh Saturday and at UW-Whitewater Monday in the conference quarterfinals, could not stage another huge rally. In fact, UWEC wound up outscoring its guests 41-21 in the second half.
The third-seeded Blugolds will take a 19-8 record into Saturday's WIAC championship at top seed UW-Stout. The Pioneers, just the second seventh seed to ever reach the WIAC semifinals, finished 11-16.
Freshmen center Liz Wisdom led the Pioneers with 15 points, making 6-8 from the field. Wisdom grabbed eight rebounds, while sophomore forward Lisa Wubben snared 10.
Heidi Arciszewski scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half for the Blugolds, while Michelle Burns and Ashley Anderson each had 12 points. Brittanni Hakanson added 10 for the Blugolds, who made 55 percent of their shots in the second half compared to the Pioneers' 32 percent.
The Pioneers bid goodbye to their two seniors, Liz Tesch and Kendra Gohr. Tesch, who had averaged 23.2 points in her last five games, was held to six points and seven shots by the collapsing Blugold defense. She still finished the year with 393 points, the 10th best scoring season ever by a Pioneer. Every other player who played for Coach Tina Kuhle's club Wednesday is either a freshman or sophomore, giving the program a bright future.
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