LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Senior Alyssa Krajco (Richland Center, Wis.) recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to help pace the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's basketball team to a 79-37 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology on the first day of the 2014 D3Hoops.com Classic.
With the win the Pioneers run their win streak to three and improve to 9-2 while the Leopards drop their second straight to stand at 3-6.
Junior Carly Rogers (Scarborough, Maine) scored two of her 13 first-half points by scoring the first basket of the game, 16 second in. UW-Platteville scored the next seven points and took a 7-2 lead on a Krajco layup with 17:51 remaining. Krajco had four of her team's seven points during the spurt with the other three coming from senior Keeley Schulz (Stockton, Ill.)
The Leopards pulled within a pair (11-9), thanks to a free throw from freshman Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) and back-to-back trifectas from Rogers, however the Pioneers used a 15-4 run to take a 26-13 lead on a 3-pointer from senior Stacy Clark (Riverdale, Iowa) with 9:34 remaining.
Junior Rachael Camara (Fall River, Mass.) drained a three of her own to cut the lead to 26-16 on the next possession but Platteville used a 13-1 run to up its lead to 22 (39-17) after a Krajco trifecta with 5:36 left in the half.
Deoleo scored the Leopards' next five points, including converting a three-point play with 3:24 left in the half to make it 42-22 before the Pioneers, who shot 54.3 percent in the opening frame and held Wentworth to 29.6, took a 50-24 lead into the locker room.
Clark opened the second half with a jumper to push Platteville's lead to 28 before Rogers and classmate Megan McLaughlin (Southington, Conn.) hit back-to-back baskets. McLaughlin's basket, which came with 18:34 left in the contest, would be the Leopards' last basket for the next 7:40 as the Pioneers outscored Wentworth 13-0 during this span and pushed their lead to 37. Platteville would lead by as 43 late in the contest.
Krajco went 8-for-13 from the floor and had five steals while Clark added 11 points and six rebounds for the Pioneers Senior Rachel Cropp (Verona, Wis.), sophomore Morgan Hartman (Rochester, Minn.), and sophomore Mykaela Brandt (Marion, Iowa) scored nine points apiece. Cropp also had seven assists.
Platteville shot just under 46 percent from the floor for the game and won the rebounding battle by a 52-31 edge.
Rogers finished the contest with 18 points and five rebounds while Deoleo added eight of her own as the Leopards scored a season-low 37 points.
Both teams play their final game of the tournament on Tuesday as the Leopards face Occidental and the Pioneers face defending national champion FDU-Florham.
