Steady improvement has been the name of the game for the UW-Superior women's basketball team so far during the 2013-2014 season. And the Yellowjackets continued that trend against WIAC Conference rivals UW-Platteville Saturday afternoon.
Taking advantage of a balanced offensive attack and a defensive effort that held the Pioneers to just 31.4 percent shooting (16-of-51), the Yellowjackets took control late in the first half and never faltered the rest of the way for an impressive 61-47 victory at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
The Yellowjackets also forced 16 UW-Platteville turnovers in winning their fifth straight game while snapping the Pioneers' four-game winning streak in the process.
UW-Superior (7-4 overall, 1-2 WIAC) got off to a strong start in the early going, taking an 8-3 lead a Brynn Liljander (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) layup, a Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) jumper and scores from Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) and Vanessa Lebens (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) in the opening 3:58 of the first half.
The Pioneers (8-5, 2-2) rallied back, taking their first lead of the game with 9:53 left on a three-point play by Keeley Schultz that made it a 16-15 UW-Platteville lead.
Liljander put the Yellowjackets back in front on the next possession, knocking down two free throws for a 17-16 UW-Superior lead at the 8:51 mark.
UW-Superior steadily pulled away from the Pioneers over the final 7:46, getting two free throws from Lebens and a three-pointer from Deandra Vavra (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) in the final 57 seconds to take a 30-22 into the intermission.
The Yellowjackets continued to up their lead early in the second half as a jumper by Blake and two inside scores from Hadley Skalmoski (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) gave UW-Superior a 36-25 bulge with 15:55 left in regulation.
Two free throws each from Skalmoski and Liljander resulted in a 40-25 UW-Superior advantage at the 14:38 mark before Schultz's three-pointer finally stopped the run and brought the Pioneers within 40-28 with 14:11 showing on the clock.
But the Yellowjackets refused to wilt, getting layups from Linzmeier and Liljander to take their largest lead of the game at 44-28 with 12:47 left in the contest.
From there, the Pioneers would get no closer than 11 points as the Yellowjackets went 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) from the free throw line and held a 31-24 edge in rebounding for the game.
Offensively, Linzmeier scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds. Liljander and Blake each finished with 11 points while Skalmoski pitched in with 10.
The Pioneers were led by Stacy Clark's game-high 16 points. Melissa Carmody added 11 for UW-Platteville.
UW-Superior travels to UW-LaCrosse for a conference clash Wednesday evening. Opening tipoff from Mitchell Hall is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.