MENOMONIE, Wis. – The No. 22 University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team saw a 13-point advantage fall away in the fourth quarter as UW-Stout pulled ahead to win 66-65 at Johnson Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon.
The first quarter started as a back-and-forth game, and a layup by senior
Ashley Weir tied the game for the third time at 9-9 with 4:25 to go in the period. Stout went ahead by three, but senior
Ella Mackiewicz finished out the quarter with a couple of free-throws to cut the Blue Devils' lead to 16-15 at the quarter break.
Momentum shifted and the Pioneers defense held UW-Stout to just seven points in the second quarter. Weir drained a three-pointer with 4:06 on the clock and started an 11-3 run which closed the half with the Pioneers leading 27-23.
An 8-0 run stretched the lead to 35-26 just two minutes into the second half, and the teams continued to go back-and-forth until the Pioneers held a 47-39 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Weir drained back-to-back three-pointers midway into the fourth quarter to push the Pioneers' lead to 55-48 and a layup from Mackiewicz at the 4:16 mark gave UW-Platteville a 61-48 lead. The final four minutes though went to the Blue Devils as the Pioneers were plagued by untimely turnovers and an 18-4 run by UW-Stout.
UW-Platteville shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field, including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from three-point range. The Pioneers finished 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) from the foul line.
Seniors
Madalyn Reichmann and Weir each made four three-pointers in the game to score a team-high 14 points apiece, and Weir was just one rebound away from a double-double. Mackiewicz finished in double digits as well with 10 points.
UW-Stout wrapped up the game shooting 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from behind the arc, and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free-throw line.
With the loss and a UW-La Crosse win at UW-Eau Claire, the Pioneers find themselves as the #5 seed entering the WIAC Tournament and will travel on Monday, Feb. 23 to the #4 seed UW-River Falls for a 7 p.m. game.
