RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls came out of the gate shooting well on Wednesday night, leading start to finish for a 57-36 win over UW-Platteville at Page Arena. The Falcons ran to a 17-4 advantage by the end of the first quarter and led by a game-high 25 points at halftime after a jumper from Lori Wardynski put them up 38-13 at the break.

The Pioneers came into the game third in the WIAC in opponent field goal percentage, but it was the Falcons who stepped up their defensive intensity on Wednesday. UW-Platteville was held to only 15 percent shooting in the first half (5-33), and 0-7 from beyond the arc. Their shooting woes continued into the second half as they finished the game 17 percent from the field and 10 percent on three-pointer's, even though they took 21 more attempts than UWRF.

Nine different Falcons scored in the first half, led by nine points from Jenna Zeman on 2-4 shooting from beyond the arc. UWRF shot 55 percent overall in the first half and out-rebounded the Pioneers 25-18. UW-Platteville started the second half on a 7-0 run, and it took the Falcons almost five minutes to make their first field goal of the second half when Brianna Koop made it 40-20. A three-pointer from Tessa Hubbard in the closing seconds of the third quarter pushed the lead back to 20 at 48-28. The teams combined for only 17 points in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons held on for their first WIAC win of the season.

Emily Gustafson provided an important spark off the bench for UWRF, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for her first double-double. Zeman finished in double figures with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Hubbard led the team with four assists. The Falcons also finished with a 28-14 advantage in the paint.

UWRF is now 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the WIAC. They will be at home again on Saturday when they host UW-Oshkosh (13-1, 3-0) at 3 p.m.