The University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s women’s basketball team took on UW-Whitewater on Wednesday Jan. 24 at the Williams Fieldhouse. Campus Programming and Relations (CPR) handed out coupons, towels and spoons to make noise during the game. The fieldhouse was packed with 385 people, filling the fieldhouse with excitement as the crowd made so much noise it occasionally drowned out the pep band.

“I challenge you to believe in yourselves. This is the most important game of the year because it is the next one,” UW-Platteville’s women’s basketball head coach Megan Wilson said to the team before the game started.

UW-P won the tip off, but the game was off to a rocky start for both teams. UW-W started the game by trapping in the corners, forcin-g UW-P to turn the ball over. Both teams were making bad passes and the shots were not falling as expected. After the first quarter, UW-W was winning 13-17.

UW-P got the ball to start the second quarter and immediately scored. The turnovers continued for both teams with bad passes and travels. UW-P caught up and took the lead half way through the second quarter 23-20. UW-P gained momentum and the shots continued to fall. The excitement by UW-P and the frustration by UW-W influenced the players to make tacky fouls resulting in UW-P being in bonus late in the second quarter. UW-P took advantage of this situation and went to the line. UW-P led the half 35-29.

“We talked about trying to stay more poised under pressure and do a better job of taking care of the basketball. We knew that in order to be successful against the 18th-ranked team in the country, we needed to execute offensively and get high percentage shots,” Wilson said during halftime.

UWP started the third quarter with back-to-back turnovers, forcing the coach to take a timeout. UW-W was still trapping in the corners and putting immense pressure on UW-P. Neither team could not hang on to the ball. Multiple passes from both teams went through the hands of the intended receiver which caused turnovers. UW-P and UW-W fouled more in the third quarter than the first and second quarters, resulting in UW-P being in bonus late in the third quarter. UWW picked up their intensity and pulled ahead 42-50.

The fourth quarter became more interesting. Both teams continued with turnovers and an unsportsmanlike conduct was called against UWW. UWP took advantage of this, scoring one free throw and scoring on the possession. The last two minutes of the game were intense. Both teams had steals resulting in buckets. UWP was forced to foul because they were down and needed to get the ball back. The last minute was drawn out by fouls and free throws. UWW was in bonus late in the fourth quarter. UWP presses with 25 seconds left as their final attempt to create a turnover and get the ball back.

“The game was chaotic. Both teams seemed to have had slippery fingers and had a hard time running their offenses. The most exciting part was at the end of the first half when both teams were hitting shots,” freshman Elementary Education  major Maddie Flanders said.

UWP had 34 turnovers, shot 55% at the line and made 46% of their shots overall. The leading scorers of the night were #4, Allison Prestegaard with 14 points; #42, Lexis Macomber with 13 points; and #34, Kassie Hansen with 12 points.