The Pioneers lost 62-57 to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds at Bo Ryan Court on Feb. 11.
The Blugolds came out strong, moving the ball around, shooting well and were up by 10 within the first nine minutes of the game.
Pioneer senior forward Stacy Clark said, “At one point we were down by 10, and even being down by 10 the energy stayed high by both the players on the court and off.”
Clark finished the game with 10 points, along with four rebounds, while going 4-4 from the free throw line.
The Pioneers clawed their way back as sophomore guard Morgan Hartman hit a three to bring the team within a point of the Blugolds, 12-11. The Blugolds answered with a three of their own, and widened the gap once again.
Senior guard Keeley Schulz tied the game back up at 15 as she hit an open shot with eight minutes remaining on the clock in the first period.
The first lead of the game for the Pioneers was created by Clark with a hook shot to make the score 17-15.
With five minutes left in the half, the Blugolds regained the lead 24-23.
Moments later, as the clock was running out, Clark hit a last minute shot to narrow the gap to six, 31-25, to end the first period.
The second half began with a layup from senior forward Alyssa Krajco that reenergized the Pioneers.
The Pioneers shot well over the ensuing minutes, including a three point basket from senior guard Rachel Cropp to close the gap, 31-30.
Shortly after Cropp’s three-point basket, the Blugolds regained the lead and maintained it for the rest of the night.
Although the Pioneers trailed by as much as ten, a late rally in the last six minutes of play led to a five point loss, 62-57.
“We made it a close game at the end, but you spend so much energy catching up that it’s hard getting over that hump,” Head Coach Megan Wilson said.
Despite the Pioneers trailing for the majority of the game, the players said it was hard to tell.
“We really executed the last seven minutes really well and that’s something we need to work on for the whole 40 minutes,” Clark said.
The Pioneers ended up shooting 30 percent from the field.
Krajco led the Pioneers with 18 points and currently has 415 points on the season.
Cropp led the Pioneers with three shots made from behind the arc and the women shot 31 percent from three-point range as a team.
The team has only two games left in the regular season and are currently ranked fourth in the WIAC with a record of 7-7.
The Pioneers played UW-La Crosse Feb. 18 with the results unavailable before publication.