The University of Wisconsin-Platteville fell to UW-Oshkosh Titans, 60-47, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, but this loss did not spell an end to the season for the women’s basketball team.
Within the first four minutes of the game, the Pioneers fell down by seven, until junior guard Rachel Cropp scored on a jumper to help give her team some early life.
Later in the half, senior forward Alyssa Krajco scored two lay ups in a row, bringing the Pioneers within one point of the Titans.
Despite leading the Pioneers with 13 points, Krajco fell significantly short from her average of 18. The next leading scorer was senior guard Keely Schulz with seven.
Krajco also led the team in rebounds with six.
“We definitely need to work on our defense, and tonight we didn’t execute our offence,” Krajco said. “We only have four guaranteed games left.”
Halfway through the first half, the Pioneers closed the gap again to one, 11-10, as senior forward Stacy Clark and sophomore guard Morgan Hartman both scored on layups.
The Pioneers ended the first half down 27-18 as they headed to the locker room.
UW-Platteville was unable to gain any traction towards a comeback early on in the second half.
Late in the period, Cropp was helped off the court by the athletic trainers with a significant injury.
“Rachael being injured definitely hurt us. We need her in there. She is a huge role-player on the team,” Krajco said.
The Titans maintained their lead and concluded the evening with a 60-47 victory over the Pioneers.
Pioneers head coach Megan Wilson understood the early disadvantage but appreciated the late effort performance by her players.
“I thought we put ourselves at a deficit, but they really worked hard towards the end,” Wilson said. “When you’ve already put yourself behind that much, it is tough to win games against good teams like Oshkosh.”
With few games remaining in the regular season, the Pioneers look to the end of the season for an opportunity to ensure a position in the national playoffs and possible home court advantage.
To make the playoffs, the women’s team must be in the top six of the WIAC. To achieve home court advantage in the playoffs, a team must be in the top three or four spots within the conference.
As of Feb. 10, the Pioneers are fourth in the conference.
Wilson said, “With only four regular season games left and top six in our conference get in to the tournament, every game is a big game, and we just have to be ready to go.  We’ve got our work cut out for us.”