The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s basketball team fought tooth-and-nail for its win against University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Bo Ryan Court, Feb. 12.
The Pioneers sported pink uniforms for “Sock It to Cancer,” as they defeated the Pointers 75-67, marking the first time the Pioneers swept the season series against the Pointers since 1995.
Stevens Point took the tip off to start the game, but the Pioneers countered with quick, aggressive play.
After a tight first half, the Pioneers were down 33-32 at halftime.
Junior guard Rachel Cropp, who was an influential factor in the game’s outcome, performed much of her skilled, overall work throughout the first half alone.
With only nine seconds remaining in the first half, Cropp scored 14 of her 16 total points.
“Rachel Cropp kept us right in the game that first half, which I believe was a large part of our success,” junior forward Alyssa Krajco said.
By the second half, the fatigue of the game began to impact the players, but the energy and attitude remained consistent for the Pioneers.
Junior forward Stacy Clark became a focal point for the Pioneers’ second-half offense, sinking five free throws and ending as the game’s highest scorer with 17.
Clark deflected attention from her performance and praised the Pioneers’ all-around play.
“Everyone made an impact and we couldn’t have gotten the win without the entire team,” Clark said.
Head coach Megan Wilson was ecstatic over her team’s victory.
“I thought the team played really well. We executed, we had energy and we shot the ball extremely well. It was such a team win,” Wilson said. “Each member contributed in different ways and when you put all of that together, it’s huge. It’s a big win for this program to sweep UW-Stevens Point for the first time in 19 years. Within our program and our lockerroom, we’ve believed in ourselves and each other all these years.”
As the Pioneers saw success on the court, so did the “Sock It To Cancer” event, which was established in order to gain supporters and raise money for several important causes.
The event raised over a $1,000 for a variety of charitable organizations, which included the Kary Yow WBCA Cancer Fund and Barb Oimoen Educational Fund.
The team sold T-shirts and organized a bra-decorating contest.
All the bras were creatively decorated in bright colors for each team.
The winner of the contest had a $93 vote, and the women’s basketball team ended up swiping away the win for the bra contest at the end of the night.
The Pioneers will end the regular season on the road as they travel to University of Wisconsin-Stout to battle the Blue Devils on Saturday.
The Pioneers and the Blue Devils tip off at 3 p.m. and the game will be televised live on Fox Sports Wisconsin and Fox Sports North.
