Stout's major comeback attempt falls short

UW-Platteville 78, UW-Stout 68

MENOMONIE (January 26, 2019) - UW-Platteville shot out to an 11-4 first period lead and it only got worse for UW-Stout as the Pioneers went on to take as much as a 24 point lead in the third quarter before the Blue Devils stormed back to pull to within four points late in the game. The Pioneers pulled away down the stretch making 8 of 10 free throws in the final 1:14 of the game to earn a 78-68 win Saturday at Johnson Fieldhouse.
 
The Pioneers (9-10, 3-5 WIAC) led 25-11 at the end of the first period, held a 43-24 halftime lead before ballooning the lead up to 24 points at several points in the third quarter, with the latest 57-33 with 4:28 remaining in the period.  Platteville led 65-42 at the end of the third period.
 
But Stout (14-5, 4-4 WIAC) held the Pioneers scoreless for the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter, forcing nine Platteville turnovers on a 16-0 run to pull to within seven points, 65-58. Shannan Watkins scored seven points in the run and had three steals that were turned into Stout points. Kyncaide Diedrich had five points in the run.
 
Platteville broke their drought on a jumper by Kassie Buchholtz at 4:09, but Stout pulled to within six, 67-61, on a 3-pointer by Diedrich. Stout pulled to within four points as Amber Fabeck scored a bucket and Kyncaide Diedrich made three free throws to make it 70-66 with 1:44 left.
 
But the Pioneers struck gold at the line as Stout was force to foul. Caitlyn Tipton dropped in four free throws, Morgan Horstman three, and Maiah Domask one to hold off Stout and hand the Blue Devils their first home loss of the season.
 
Diedrich led all scorers with 26 points, 13 in the fourth quarter. Fabeck had 15 and Watkins 11, seven in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers were led by Horstman with 25 points. Tipton tossed in 19 points and Domask 17.

The Pioneers were hot in the first quarter, shooting 58.8 percent (25-59). Despite shooting only 1 for 4 in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers finished the game shooting 51.0 percent (25-49). The were 23 of 32 from the free throw line (71.9 percent).

The Blue Devils shot 41 percent (25-61) for the game, a percentage dragged down by 3 for 19 shooting from beyond the arc (15.8 percent). Stout hit 15 of 22 free throws (68.2 percent). 

Turnovers were an issue for the Blue Devils early, committing 18 turnovers in the first three quarters, but none in the fourth. The Pioneers had 12 turnovers going into the fourth quarter, but almost saw their lead evaporate as Stout recorded six fourth quarter steals and forced 11 fourth quarter Platteville turnovers.

Stout will be at UW-River Falls, Wednesday, Jan. 30, then return to Johnson Fieldhouse, Saturday, Feb. 2 to face UW-Oshkosh at 3 p.m.