PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Hosting the inaugural Marc Heidorf Memorial Classic from Bo Ryan Court, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team (5-1) beat Simpson College (2-2) by a score of 72-61 on Saturday night.

Senior Ella Mackiewicz finished with a game-high 15 points, four assists and four steals while sophomore Ava Hanson also finished in double-digits with 12 points. 

The Pioneers took the lead for good following a three-pointer by sophomore Caitlyn Strom from senior Barb Kling with three minutes left in the first half. Back-to-back baskets knocked down by senior Ashley Weir pushed the Pioneers lead to 32-26 before the end of the half. 

After the break, back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Macie Neumeister and senior Alexis Strom pushed the advantage to 13 points with five minutes to go in the quarter. The Pioneers were 8-of-10 from the foul line in the third quarter which helped them extend the lead to the largest of the night, 18 points, before going into the final quarter. The Storm cut the difference to ten points in the fourth, but the Pioneers began to pull away again and this time an offensive board and layup by Tatum Weir pushed the lead back to 15 points midway through the quarter. 

For the game, UW-Platteville shot 36.1 percent (26-of-72) from the floor and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from beyond the arc. The Storm went 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field and 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from deep. From the free-throw line, the Pioneers finished 14-of-20 (70 percent) while Simpson made 13-of-17 (76.5 percent). 

Next up, the Pioneers and Grinnell will tip off at 5:45 p.m. on Sunday for the second day of the tournament. 
 
*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a free ice cream cone (with purchase) the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering a free churro (with purchase) the day after each Pioneer win.