Brooklyn, NY --- The Brooklyn College Women's Basketball team dropped its final game of the 2012 portion of its 2012-2013 schedule, as the Bulldogs fell to the Pioneers of the University of Wisconsin – Platteville, by a score of 49-39, this afternoon at the West Quad Center. With the loss, BC falls to 7-3 overall on the season, while Wisconsin-Platteville improves to 5-7 overall on the year.
The Pioneers never trailed in the game as, as BC struggled to get its offense going early on.
Following a jumper from McKenzie Forseth, which put UW-Platteville up 10-4 at the 13:38 mark, the Bulldogs answered with a 9-3 run to tie the game at 13-13 with 9:59 left in the opening half. Vanessa D'Ambrosi, Brittany Bowen, Asia Foster and Charnelle Saint Laurent all contributed to the run.
However, that's as close as BC would get to taking the lead, as the Pioneers would go ahead by as many as 10, 27-17, with 3:45 remaining on the clock before the half-time break. BC would show its resiliency in the closing minutes of the half, as Brooklyn would cut its deficit to four, 27-23, scoring the final six points of the period to head into the break.
The Bulldogs shot just 21.6% (8-37) from the field, including going just 1-for-7 from three in the half.
The second half featured much of the same, as BC continued its shooting woes.
Despite an off shooting night, the Bulldogs would not go down lightly, playing an intense defense, as a steal and layup from T'Keyah Francis cut Brooklyn's deficit to one, 30-29, with 14:37 left in the game.
However, the Pioneers would once again build a 10-point lead, using an 11-2 run to take a 41-31 lead with 11:47 remaining. The Bulldogs would continue to chip away at its deficit, but in the end it would be too much to overcome, as UW-Platteville would go on to take the 49-39 win.
Brooklyn was led by Nicole Francomano's team-high nine points. Bowen finished with seven points, while Tiffany Thompson and Saint Laurent each chipped in with six points. Thompson also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Kim Wellnitz led all scorers with a game-best 15 points for the Pioneers. She also recorded eight rebounds. Alyssa Krajco contributed with eight points.
For the game, BC shot 21.7% (15-69) from the field and 11.1% (2-18) from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs also struggled from the free throw line, shooting 46.7% (7-15) from the charity stripe.
UW-Platteville shot 38.2% (21-55) from the field and 21.4% (3-14) from three. The Pioneers also shot 57.1% (4-7) from the line.
Brooklyn forced Platteville into 25 turnovers, which led to 21 points, and also held a 47-45 rebounding edge.
As the calendar now turns to 2013, BC will return to action next Saturday, January 5th, as Brooklyn will play host to the Lightning of Lehman College in a City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:30 pm at the West Quad Center.