Box Score
PLATTEVILLE – The 20th-ranked UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team concluded the regular season on a five-game winning streak with a 91-70 victory over UW-Platteville today on Bo Ryan Court.
The Pointers end the regular season with a 21-4 overall record and a 12-4 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record. The 21 wins are tied for the fifth-most in program history. Stevens Point will be the three seed in the WIAC Tournament starting Tuesday. The Pioneers end with an 11-14 overall record and a 5-11 conference record. The Pointers have won 10 straight over the Pioneers.
The Pointers jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Haley Houghton (Wausau/Wausau East) (Sr.-Wausau/East) hit a pair of three-pointers during that span. Houghton had eight of the first 12 points before the first media timeout. Platteville came back to take the lead 20-19 with 11 minutes left in the first half. Laura Neuenfeldt (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) (Sr.-Two Rivers) then scored eight consecutive points to give the Pointers back the lead at 27-23. Neuenfeldt and Houghton had 26 of the team's first 34 points.
Stevens Point went on a 13-0 run to take a 37-23 lead with 3:27 left in the half. After the Pioneers scored a bucket, the Pointers went on an 8-0 run as they led at the half 47-28.
The 47 points were the most scored in the first half all season by Stevens Point. The Pointers shot 61 % in the first half, including 6-for-10 on three-point attempts. Houghton had 16 points and Neuenfeldt added 13 points in the first half. Platteville shot 32 % in the half.
Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) (Jr.-Mineral Point) hit a jumper to give the Pointers a 21-point lead to begin the second half. The Pioneers then tried to crawl their way back into the game and cut the Pointer lead to 11 with 7:28 remaining in the game. Stevens Point put away any chances of a Platteville comeback with an 8-0 run to make the score 77-58 with 5:39 left in the game. The Pointers went on to win 91-70.
Stevens Point shot a season-best 60 % from the field and was 19-for-22 from the free throw line. The Pioneers shot 42 % from the field. The Pointers scored 24 points off of 18 Platteville turnovers.
Haley Houghton (Wausau/Wausau East) led the way for Stevens Point with 22 points. Houghton was 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Laura Neuenfeldt (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) finished with 13 points and Janell Van Gomple (DeForest/DeForest) (Jr.-DeForest) had a season-high 13 points off the bench. Van Gomple also had a team-high six assists. Jessi Sporle (Mineral Point/Mineral Point) led the Pointers with seven rebounds. Lisa Grantman had 19 points to lead the Pioneers.
The Pointers will host UW-Oshkosh Tuesday night in Berg Gym in the WIAC Tournament Quarterfinals. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
