Women’s basketball head coach Megan Wilson’s squad is in the worst losing streak of Wilson’s tenure at the helm of the Pioneers, losing their twelfth straight game over the weekend.
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s basketball team lost to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 81-62 on Bo Ryan Court Feb. 6.
Despite having the contest within two points early in the second half, the UW-Whitewater led the rest of the night against the Pioneers.
UW-Whitewater was led by guard Kaitlyn Thill, who scored 26 points in the conference win.
The Pioneers were led by senior guard Claire Poad with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half, and sophomore forward Alyssa Krajco with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Although UW-Platteville was down by 14 points close to halftime, the team ended the half on an 18-9 run and closed the gap to just five points against the conference-leading Warhawks.
“When you are down, you get a sense of urgency, and you need to put the ball in the hoop,” senior guard Claire Poad said.
UW-Whitewater went on a 15-1 scoring run after the Pioneers brought the game within two. The Warhawks’ full-court press coverage forced the Pioneers to turn the ball over 21 times.
“In the beginning, we had a hard time figuring out how to work with their press coverage,” sophomore forward Alyssa Krajco said.
The 21 turnovers led to 27 Warhawk points and put the Pioneers into a deep hole.
UW-Whitewater put the game away at the free-throw line, making 80 percent (20-25), while UW-Platteville only attempted nine free throws all game.
The Warhawks biggest lead of the night came late in the second half as they led by 22. The UW-Whitewater bench out-scored the Pioneers bench 36-19.
“They were a tough and relentless team, and we got away from executing our game plan,” Wilson said.
Against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the Pioneers dropped a 73-63 contest to the Eagles Saturday night at Bo Ryan Court.
Poad led the Pioneers offense with 11 points and four steals. Krajco added 10 points and nine rebounds, and junior Kim Wellnitz also scored in the double-digits with 10 points.
The Pioneers found themselves playing catch-up from the start. With 13:47 left in the first half, they were down 14-4 when junior Melissa Carmody scored five straight points to pull the team to within five. The Eagles responded with a 10-point run led by senior Briana Radowicz, who had a game-high 32 points.
At halftime, the Pioneers went into the locker room trailing 21-31. Putting together a solid second half would be key for the team to succeed.
“We needed to put two halves together to come out with a win,” Krajco said.
“It has been a long season,” Poad said. “We worked on switching our defense and executing our offense for tonight’s game.”
The Pioneers started the second half scoring 11 points in the first four minutes, tying the game at 41 with 12:10 remaining. However, the Pioneers’ burst was short-lived, as the Eagles then went on an 18-2 run.
“Battling back from being 10 down was one of the biggest ups and downs of the game,” Wilson said. “We had a good run, but it was not good enough.”
The Pioneers will return to action Wednesday evening when they host the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The Pioneers and Blugolds are scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tip on Bo Ryan Court.
