UW-Whitewater stayed in the hunt for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with an 88-77 win over UW-Platteviile at Williams Fieldhouse in Platteville, Wisconsin Wednesday night.
Box Score
Whitewater jumped out to a 9-2 lead, and Platteville followed with eight straight points to take a 10-9 lead at 16:23. Those were anomalies, as the teams see-sawed the lead the rest of the half, with eight ties. Neither team led by more than three points for that sixteen minute span, with the Pioneers clinging to a 48-47 lead at halftime.
As unusual as the early runs by each team were, individual stats also defied meticulously prepared scouting reports. Senior guard Nicole Bundy (Fredonia/Ozaukee) came in to the game averaging 13.8 points per game, but she went 7-10 from the floor and 4-4 from the line to tally 20 points in the half. On the flip side, Pioneer senior guard Charity Stotmeister, who was tied with Bundy in league scoring at 13.8, scored 19 on 5-7 shooting from the floor and 7-8 from the line. Bundy and Stotmeister weren't the only ones shooting well, with Pioneers making 65% of their field goals in the first half and UW-W shooting 61%.
Platteville broke the mold at the beginning of the second half, building a 62-55 lead when Stotmeister hit a jumper in the lane at 13:35. Just like the first half, only in reverse, Whitewater responded with a 9-0 run to take a 64-62 lead on a three by Bundy at 10:12. Tied at 68 at 6:21, UW-W threw away the script and went off on its own, scoring the next eight points to grab a stranglehold on the lead. The lead inched up over the final minutes as Platteville stopped the clock with fouls and Whitewater paraded to the free throw line, scoring their final eight points from the line.
Whitewater cooled just a bit in the second half, winding up with a 55% field goal night, but the Pioneers shot just 37% in the final twenty minutes. Whitewater also made the most of its free throw opportunities, hitting 21-23, second only to a 17-18 night against Southwestern December 19. Platteville also made 21 free throws in 30 attempts.
Bundy wound up with 30 points, just short of her team season high of 32 versus Loras College, November 17. Hendrickson and Heidi Sonntag (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran), part of the productive trio of senior guards, added 17 apiece. Sophomore forward Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) was also in double figures with 14. Hendrickson and Sonntag also shared the game lead with six assists each.
Stotmeister led the Pioneers with 24 points and senior forward Stacia Nemitz contributed 20. Freshman guard Claire Poad had 11. Stotmeister also led UW-P with seven rebounds and five assists.
UW-W improved to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in the WIAC, no worse than one game out of first place depending on the outcome of other games Wednesday. UW-Platteville is 12-10 and 5-8 in league play.
UW-W will host UW-Eau Claire Saturday at 3:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center, the first of three consecutive home games for the Warhawks leading up to the WIAC tournament, which begins play February 23. The top two teams in the final regular season standings will earn first round byes in the tourney, with teams three and four hosting number six and five, respectively.
For additional information: Keri Carollo, UW-W coach, 262-472-5782 or carollok@uww.edu
