Whitewater, Wis. -- The Warhawks pulled away late to defeat UW-Platteville 63-49 in a top 25 matchup in Kachel Gym Wednesday. UWW is ranked ninth in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll and eleventh according to the D3hoops.com. The Pioneers are listed tied for 21st and 18th respectively in the pair of national polls.
UW-Whitewater capitalized from the free throw line late to pull away in the fourth quarter, but it was the pace that gave the Warhawks the edge in the game. Stifling defense coupled with a blistering offensive pace held the pressure on the Pioneers throughout the game on both sides of the ball.
UW-Platteville opened the scoring on a layin early but the Warhawks responded with a pair of runs that built a six point lead by the 2:39 mark in the first.
Logan Lowry (Appleton, Wis./East) capped the second run with a triple that made it 15-9. The Pioneers narrowed the gap to two by the end of the first.
The second was similar to the first except with the roles reversed -- the Pioneers used a big run to claim the lead until UWW finished the half strong. The Warhawks ended the second on a 6-0 spurt bolstered by two phenomenal hustle plays from
Lainee Burks (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster). The shifty guard found some space in the lane for a layup that tied the game with less than 40 seconds left. On the defensive end, she picked the Pioneer guard's pocket and cruised for a layin to give UWW the lead, 30-28 with 14 seconds remaining in the half. On UWP's final possession of the half, Burks came up with yet another steal to send the Warhawks into the break with the two-point advantage.
UW-Whitewater came out strong in the third, widening the gap to as much as eight by the 5:48 mark. From that point, Platteville went on a 12-2 run to knot the game 41-41 with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
Mia Gillis (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) knocked down a shot in the paint to reclaim the lead for UWW heading into the fourth, 43-41.
The fourth was a back-and-fourth affair early until a huge swing gave the Warhawks all of the momentum. With the score tied 45-45 at 7:56,
Camryn Nies (Platteville, Wis./Platteville) hit a second change layup to spark a 7-0 run. Lowry knocked down a pair of free throws before
Renee Rittmeyer (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) drained a three-pointer to make it 52-45 with 4:37 to go. Less than three minutes later, Rittmeyer struck again from nearly the same spot to give the Warhawks a 56-47 advantage and UWW never looked back, sealing the win from the free throw line.
Gillis led the Warhawks with 13 points bolstered by 5-6 from the charity stripe adding five boards and a pair of assists. Rittmeyer hit half of her shots for 12 points while pacing UWW on the glass with six rebounds. She added a game high three steals in the contest.
Caden Krohn (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West) was the most efficient on the night with 12 points on 6-8 from the floor. Lowry had a solid outing with five points, five assists and five boards in the game.
The Warhawks are headed north for a meeting with the Blugolds at Eau Claire Saturday. Tipoff is set for 5 PM.
