RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Women's Basketball team was victorious in its final regular season game of the 2024-25 season, defeating UW-Platteville 63-58.
The win improved UWRF's record to 14-11 overall and 6-8 in WIAC play. UWRF's six WIAC wins this season are the most by the program since recording seven in 2017-18.
The game also served as senior day, in which the team honored the following players: Brynn Bauer, Annie Feine, Jaya Hatlestad, Olivia Miron, Paige Pearson, Jenna Ritzer, Averie Varsho.
The Pioneers started off the game with a 5-2 lead, but this would be the final time the Falcons trailed for the remainder of the game. UWRF started sharp from beyond the arc, embarking on a spree of three straight possessions that all resulted in made three-pointers — the shooting spree was part of a 16-0 run that saw the Falcons jump out to an 18-5 lead. The Pioneers added a quick 5-0 run to end the quarter, putting UWRF up 18-10 after the first period — the Falcons went 4-7 from beyond the arc.
The second quarter was high scoring, as UW-Platteville held a narrow 18-15 advantage in the frame and shot over 60%. The Falcons led by about 10 points for most of the quarter, before the Pioneers managed to trim the advantage to 31-27 with 45 seconds remaining in the half. UWRF went into halftime leading 33-28.
Midway through the third quarter, the Pioneers cut UWRF's lead to 42-41 with 4:28 remaining in the third. UW-River Falls answered back with a three-pointer from Annamarie Aue and a jumper by Olivia Hoerl to retake a six-point lead with 2:30 to go. UWRF held a 50-45 lead heading into the final frame.
The Falcons pushed their lead to 55-45 out of the gates as once again, Aue and Hoerl once again went back-to-back with a three-pointer and jump shot. UWRF held a steady lead through the remainder of the fourth, as the Pioneers never came any closer than four points. UW-River Falls held on to win 63-58, capping off the regular season with the team's sixth WIAC win of the season.
The Falcons dominated on the boards with a 36-25 advantage in total rebounding, in addition to shooting 22-51 (43.1%) from the field. UWRF scored 22 points in the paint.
Hoerl led the Falcons with 18 points and eight rebounds, a game high for any player in both categories. Karleigh Creasey scored 16 points off 5-11 shooting from the field and 3-4 shooting from beyond the arc — the scoring total is a season-best mark for Creasey.
Next up, the Falcons will gear up to compete in the 2024-25 WIAC Women's Basketball Tournament as the six seed in the bracket. UWRF will face UW-Whitewater on the road on Feb. 25 in the WIAC first round, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
