ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Making their first ever appearance in the NCAA DIII Championship, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team's historic season ended Friday night in the First Round inside Bethel University's Roberston Center. Tied at the half,  Coe College pulled ahead to win 69-51 and advance to Saturday's round of 32. 

"I thought we played an incredible first half and executed our game plan pretty well," said head coach Kelly McNiff. "We left a few offensive opportunities out there, but it was an exciting back and forth first half. Then things started to break down in the second half that we couldn't necessarily bounce back from. The effort was there, along with the toughness and the grit, and I think we can honestly say we left everything on the floor."

The Pioneers started out hot, running up a 7-0 lead while forcing three turnovers in less than three minutes play. The teams went back and forth until the Kohawks closed on a 7-0 run of their own to take an 18-15 lead at the quarter break. Senior Madalyn Reichmann's jumper with 6:17 to go in the first half returned the lead to the Pioneers, 24-23, and it was a back and forth contest to the end of the half where the teams went into the locker room knotted at 29. 

The brawl continued into the second half until a 14-0 run down the stretch of the third quarter saw Coe jump out to a comfortable 51-35 advantage. The Pioneers started to find their groove again at the end of the quarter when sophomore Caitlyn Strom's jumper followed by a huge three-pointer by senior Ashley Weir cut the Kowhawk's lead to eleven. A steal and fast break by senior Ella Mackiewicz cut the lead to 10 with 4:54 to go, but the Kohawks held on to the double-digit lead to the end. 

Mackieweicz finished with a team-best 19 points while Strom had a career-day with 15 points. Reichmann finished with nine points, a game-high three steals, and three rebounds. Senior Alexis Strom finished with a game-high three assists. 

Overall, the Pioneers shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor, 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from the foul line. 

Coe finished 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the field, 42.9 percent (6-of-14) from beyond the arc, and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the stripe.  

Six Pioneers became the first ever in program history to finish their careers in the NCAA Tournament. Thos six include: Ella Mackiewicz, Barb Kling, Madalyn Reichmann, Lauren Sparks, Alexis Strom, and Ashley Weir. 

"Our six seniors are all very skilled, but I think the what will be most important for our underclassmen is to fill the shoes of the leadership of these six.  The have raised the standard for UW-Platteville women's basketball and I could not be more proud of them," said McNiff.