Blugolds stymie Pioneers
February 18, 2009
UW-Eau Claire held UW-Platteville to 11.5 percent shooting in the second half and beat the Pioneers 60-35 Wednesday night in the Bo Ryan Court finale.
The 11th-ranked Blugolds improved to 20-4 overall and 11-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, winning 20 games for the 16th time in program history. The Pioneers dropped to 8-15, 5-10 and were eliminated from the conference tournament contention.
UWEC led 38-21 at the half and then forced 13 misses on the first 14 Pioneer shots in the second half. UWP finished with just three field goals in 26 second-half attempts.
One of the lone Pioneer bright spots came with 1:16 to play, when Lisa Grantman made a free throw to score her 1,000th career point. The senior is the eighth player in Pioneer history to reach that plateau.
Heidi Arciszewski scored 13, and Hannah Mesick had 12 points to lead the Blugolds, who out-rebounded the Pioneers 52-32 and grabbed 18 offensive boards. The Blugolds held a 42-12 advantage in the paint.
Stacia Nemitz had her third double-double for the Pioneers, finishing with game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds. No other Pioneer had more than six points.
The Pioneers close out their regular season Saturday at UW-Stevens Point at 5 p.m.
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