MENOMONIE – On a day that celebrated Rosella Wille and Allison Wokatsch, UW-Stout delivered a finish worthy of the moment. The Blue Devils erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit and surged past No. 22 UW-Platteville, 66-65, Saturday afternoon at Johnson Fieldhouse, closing the regular season with a signature win in front of the home crowd. It was physical, defensive and tense throughout, and when the final horn sounded – just after Platteville's desperation three splashed through as time expired – Stout had done just enough.
First Half: Trading Blows in a Defensive Grind
After Platteville grabbed a quick lead, Wokatsch brought the Senior Day crowd to its feet at the 7:38 mark of the first quarter, drilling a three-pointer off a pass from Eleice Dahl to put Stout up 5-4. Midway through the quarter, Wille made one of the hustle plays that defined her afternoon. With the game tied, she secured an offensive rebound and, in one motion, dished to Julia Rybacki for a layup at 4:05 to give Stout an 11-9 edge. The opening half was bruising and defensive. Platteville did not score in the second quarter until a free throw at 4:47, as Stout's defense contested every touch and controlled the paint. Still, the Pioneers clawed back late in the half with a 12-2 run. Dahl halted an earlier 8-0 Platteville surge with a tough, contested layup to make it 23-22, but the Pioneers carried momentum into the final minutes. With Stout trailing 27-21, Molly Bills executed a smooth step-through in the lane, drawing contact and earning two free throws. She knocked them down to cut the deficit to 27-23 at halftime.
Third Quarter: Platteville Pushes Ahead
Stout opened the second half with precision. After a defensive stop on Platteville's first possession, Addy Verhagen buried a three on the Blue Devils' first trip down the floor, assisted by Wille, trimming the margin to one. But the Pioneers responded with an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 35-26, forcing a Stout timeout. Out of the break, the Blue Devils executed a crisp baseline out-of-bounds set, with Verhagen finding Brooklynn Birt for a quick layup to stop the bleeding. The quarter remained back-and-forth, but Platteville carried a 47-39 advantage into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter: A Senior Day Surge
What followed was a frenetic final 10 minutes. Stout struck immediately. At 9:43, Rybacki picked off a pass, and Verhagen converted the fastbreak layup at 9:39. Moments later, Verhagen came up with another steal, leading to Birt finishing in transition at 9:18. Four points in 43 seconds forced a Platteville timeout at 9:17 and cut the deficit to four. Still, the Pioneers rebuilt their lead to 61-48 with 4:16 remaining. That's when the Blue Devils made their stand. Wille drilled a three from the right wing at 4:03 to make it 61-51. On the next key possession, Birt converted an and-one at 2:59, finishing through contact and sinking the free throw to pull Stout within 61-56. After a defensive stop, Rybacki muscled in a putback layup at 2:32 to trim it to 61-58, capping a 10-0 run that brought the Johnson Fieldhouse crowd to life.
With 1:32 to play and Stout trailing 62-60, Rybacki drove the lane and scored again, and after a Blue Devil timeout and a defensive stop, she attacked once more. Following a steal by Birt, Rybacki slashed through the paint and laid it in at 0:44 to give Stout a 63-62 lead — its first since early in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession, Stout forced a wild shot Pioneer shot at the end of the shot clock. Birt secured the rebound, and the Blue Devils called timeout with 17.7 seconds left, up one.
Dahl calmly stepped to the line and knocked down two free throws with 15 seconds remaining, extending the lead to three. After another defensive stand and a rebound by Birt, she was fouled and split a pair at the stripe with five seconds left, pushing the margin to four, sealing the win for the Blue Devils. Platteville hit a deep three as time expired, but it only narrowed the final margin. The comeback was complete.
By The Numbers
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27 – Stout points in the fourth quarter, shooting 10-of-16 (62.5%) in the final frame.
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32 – Points off turnovers for the Blue Devils, compared to 16 for Platteville.
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46 – Points in the paint for Stout, led by relentless interior play from Rybacki and Birt.
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17 – Points from Julia Rybacki, who added four rebounds and four assists, including the go-ahead bucket with 44 seconds left.
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12 – Points and six rebounds from Brooklynn Birt, including the pivotal steal and defensive rebound in the final minute.
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8 – Points and six rebounds from senior Rosella Wille, plus six steals and the momentum-shifting three in the fourth.
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4 – Assists from Eleice Dahl, along with two clutch free throws in the closing seconds.
A Fitting Finish
On Senior Day, Wille and Wokatsch were honored before tipoff. Wokatsch made her impact felt early with her first-quarter three, while Wille's fingerprints were all over the game — on the glass, in passing lanes and in the decisive fourth-quarter run. The Blue Devils close the regular season at 13-12 overall and 4-10 in WIAC play, but Saturday's performance against a nationally ranked opponent provided a powerful exclamation point. In a game defined by toughness and resilience, Stout saved its best stretch for last — and sent its seniors out the right way
