Sami Brookens’ timely shooting gave Platteville a much-needed lift in Friday night’s 57–37 Southwest Wisconsin Conference victory over visiting Lancaster.
The junior back-up point guard hit three 3-pointers in a three-minute span midway through the second half to spur a 20–5 Hillmen run.
Brookens hit went 4-of-4 from behind the arc in the game and finished with a season-high 14 points and three steals.
“Sami gave us a tremendous lift,” said Platteville head coach Brandon Temperly. “She not only brought scoring, she ran the team well from the point guard position and played solid defense. She always has a can-do attitude and she got it done against a tough conference opponent Friday night.”
Senior forward Sierra Brecke scored nine of her game-high 17 points in the first half as the Hillmen built a 23–17 lead.
But Platteville missed its first nine shots of the second half in a scoreless stretch that lasted nearly five minutes.
The visiting Arrows pulled within two at 23–21 on a putback basket by senior Ashton Doll.
Senior Claire Tashner finally ended the Hillmen drought with a layup at the 13:30 mark.
After a Carly Chadd layup once again made it a two-point game, Brecke made back-to-back layups to extend Platteville’s lead to 29–23.
Brookens buried back-to-back three-pointers to extend the Hillmen lead to nine at 35–26. Her third triple of the half made it 40–28 with 9:30 left.
Sophomore forward Skye Digman converted a three-point play with 8:25 remaining then added a basket in the lane on Platteville’s ensuing possession to cap the 20–5 run.
Digman added a second three-point play three minutes later to make it 50–33, then scored six straight points to push the lead to 55–36 with
1:52 left.
Digman scored all 13 of her points in a seven-minute span and finished with 13 rebounds to record her seventh double–double of the season.
“Skye is listed as a sophomore but mentally and physically, she plays like an upperclassmen,” said Temperly. “ She has put in a good deal of work and it has been paying off, especially the second half of the season. She brings the toughness that we need to be successful.”
Platteville’s late offensive run was spurred by its defense that registered 19 steals and forced 28 Lancaster turnovers.
“Our defense was solid for most of the game and that allowed us to be in a good position to go on a run,” added Temperly. “Sami got us started with some big shots and we continued to get stops. It was a physical game and Lancaster never allowed us to be comfortable. I’m proud of our girls for not getting rattled and sticking with the game plan. We will need that sort of toughness and focus against our next opponent.”
Platteville improved to 13–5 overall and 7–1 in the SWC, regaining sole possession of first place in the conference thanks to Richland Center’s 57–46 loss to Prairie du Chien on the same night. Lancaster fell to 11–8, 3–5.
Temperly’s Hillmen need just one win in their final two conference games to earn at least a share of this year’s SWC title. Platteville hosts Prairie du Chien (8–9, 3–5) on Thursday and will close out the regular season on Thursday, Feb. 18 at Richland Center (12–8, 6–2). The Hillmen will also travel to Southwestern for a non-conference game on Friday before traveling to Mount Horeb on Tuesday.
Platteville 57, Lancaster 37
(from Friday, Feb. 5 @ Platteville)
Lancaster 17 20 — 37
Platteville 23 34 — 57
Lancaster (11–8, 3–5) — Alexis Galvan 9, Ashton Doll 4, Kindra Yoose 7, Megan Mumm 1, Mallory Bahl 1, Carly Chadd 7, Kristina Larson 5, Devin Wagner 2. Totals – 12 11-24 37.
Platteville (13–5, 7–1) — Brelynn Updike 3, Claire Tashner 4, Rachel Emendorfer 2, Sami Brookens 14, Allison Woodworth 4, Sierra Brecke 17, Skye Digman 13. Totals — 23 7-11 57.
3-point goals — L: 2 (Glavan 1, Yoose 1); P: 4 (Brookens 4). Total fouls — L: 13, P: 21. Fouled out — none.
