ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Coe College women's basketball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening, picking up its first postseason victory since the 2012 season with a 69-51 win over the University of Wisconsin Platteville in the opening game of the Bethel University pod. Coe, seeded lower than Platteville in the bracket, opened slowly on offense with just two of the first 11 points in the game. The Kohawks responded with a strong close to the quarter, outscoring the Pioneers 16-6 in the final 5:52 of the quarter. The second quarter was back-and-forth but Platteville closed the gap before the break, scoring six of the final eight points to level the game at 29. The Pioneers hung tough for the opening three minutes of the third quarter until the Kohawks took over for good, scoring 14 unanswered points to lead 51-35 late in the period. Platteville hung tough with a 13-7 run to pull within 10 at the midway mark of the fourth but the Kohawks closed the game with 11 of the final 14 points to advance to Saturday. A-R-C Player of the Year
Caydee Kirkham finished with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists while
Audrie Helmrichs had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Kelly Knight and
Taryn Kravig rounded out Coe's double-digit point scoring efforts with 13 and 11 points respectively, contributing to Coe's impressive 6-of-14 shooting from deep.
GAME FACTS
COE 69 - UW-PLATTEVILLE 51
- Platteville started well, scoring nine of the first 11 points to take a commanding lead less than four three minutes. The Kohawks answered before the end of the first quarter, ripping off a 16-6 run to take control with an 18-15 lead. Kirkham led a balanced scoring attack in the first 10, scoring six points on three field goals while Helmrichs, Kravig and Knight all contributed. Platteville reasserted themselves in the second quarter, limiting Coe's offense to just 11 points in the period while scoring 14 to level the game at the half. Knight and Kirkham started the third quarter with back-to-back 3s for the Kohawks. A media timeout slowed Coe's run but Kirkham picked right back up, hitting a layup to start a 13-2 run that gave the Kohawks momentum. Leading 50-35 with 3:25 left in the quarter, Coe hung on for the rest of the period, managing just one point over the stretch but solid defense kept a comfortable lead intact. The Kohawks started the fourth with a run to push the lead back to 15 as Kravig hit a 3 for 58-43 but a quick answer from the Pioneers made it a 10-point game with 5:16 to play. Coe put the game on ice following a timeout, scoring 11 of the final 13 points to advance to Saturday's second round.
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