In their final game of the season, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s basketball team fell to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 77-68 on Bo Ryan Court Feb. 13.

After the Pioneers cut a Bluegold nine-point halftime lead to just one with 12:36 left in the contest,  the Blugolds regained their composure and went on a 15-2 run to hold the lead for the rest of the night.

Getting themselves in deep holes has been a problem for the Pioneers all season.

“We get down by nine or 11 and expend our energy; it makes it hard to come back,” head coach Megan Wilson said.  “It has been the same deficit all season.”

The Pioneers started slowly and found themselves down 21-8 with 11:33 left in the first half.  After the early deficit, seniors Elizabeth Lawinger and Claire Poad and sophomore Rilee Schimtz each converted on three-point plays to pull the Pioneers to within nine at the half.

“We needed to bring intensity and go hard for the last 20 minutes,” Lawinger said.  “We were going to leave it all out on the floor.”

UW-Platteville came out strong as a team in the second half, scoring 14 points in just under eight minutes.

Despite their efforts, the Pioneers were unable to overcome the high-scoring offense of the Blugolds.  Sophomore Courtney Lewis led UW-Eau Claire with a career-high 28 points and senior Sarah Bingea added 18 points.

Sophomore Alyssa Krajco led the offensive attack for the home team, netting a career-high 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds.  Three seniors also registered double-digit points in their final game for the Pioneers.  Lawinger scored 15 points, McKenzie Forseth contributed 12 points and Poad posted 10 points.

“Eau Claire shot really well for not being at home,” said Krajco.  “They hit big shots and had high scorers.”

With the loss to the Blugolds, the Pioneers ended their season with a 13-game losing streak and 5-20 overall (1-15 WIAC).