Pioneers win season opener
Posted November 17, 2009
A young UW-Platteville women's basketball team quickly came of age Tuesday, as the Pioneers held off Millikin 68-61 to open the 2009-10 season Tuesday on Bo Ryan Court.
The Pioneers, with just three seniors and one junior, built a 33-21 halftime lead then withstood a second-half Big Blue rally. Trailing 40-29, Millikin roared back to take a 50-49 lead on two Elise Wildman free throws with 6:27 remaining.
UWP refused to fold under the pressure and outscored Millikin 10-3 down the stretch.
"I knew we'd get control," said Charity Stotmeister, one of the three seniors. "It was about sticking with our fundamentals. We got frenzied and lost our big lead, but it was about sticking with the game plan."
With the score tied at 58, the Pioneers scored the next six points. Mallory Mau made one of two free throws with 2:51 remaining then after a Liz Lawringer steal, Stacia Nemitz nailed a three-point basket from the top of the key for a 62-58 advantage. Kaitlyn Pustina made two more free throws with 26 seconds left for a 64-58 lead to seal the contest. Millikin's Julia Robert made a three-pointer with 18 seconds left, but Lawinger and Nemitz each made two more free throws.
Nemitz scored 12 points and Dru Schneider 11 for the Pioneers, while Stotmeister added nine points, five assists, five rebounds, and four steals. The freshman Lawinger made six thefts, as UWP forced 29 turnovers, converting them into 29 points.
"The biggest thing was using our defense to make good offensive decisions," Stotmeister said, "getting stops on the defensive end and converting on offense."
Millikin's Crystal Zeigler led all scorers with 17 points, while Robert added 12 and Wildman 11.
The Big Blue were picked for fifth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), while the Pioneers were chosen eighth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason polls. UWP is using that low ranking as a motivating factor this season.
"It feels awesome," Stotmeister said about the win. "We set high goals for ourselves this year."
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