The UW-Platteville Pioneers came into Zorn Arena Saturday afternoon looking for their third straight upset in the WIAC tournament. The Blugolds were looking to win their seventh straight game and were playing for their 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Div. III tournament.

The result produced one of the best games of the season.

Senior guard Jessie Brantner hit a running shot in the lane at the buzzer to give UW-Eau Claire a 78-76 victory over Platteville, sending the Blugolds to the NCAA tournament.

Brantner was mobbed by her teammates at half-court after the shot, which capped a five-point rally for the Blugolds.

Platteville’s Katie Oliver made a three-pointer with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the game to give the Pioneers a 76-71 lead.

Senior Vanessa Schley hit two free throws to cut Platteville’s lead to three, and sophomore Janel Soppeland rebounded a Platteville miss at the other end to give the Blugolds the ball back. After a time-out, Eau Claire got the ball in Brantner’s hands, and she responded with the game-tying three.

“I could tell by the look in Brantner’s eyes that she was not going to let us lose this game,” coach Tonja Englund said. “I knew she wanted the ball in her hands.”

After the three, Eau Claire forced another Platteville miss, and Schley gathered the rebound.

“I just wanted to get the team going,” Brantner said. “When it comes down to the end and I’m feeling good, I want the ball in my hands.”

Brantner missed the first opportunity to win the game, but senior Megan Murphy got a jump ball with four seconds left, and the possession arrow in favor of Eau Claire. The Blugolds then had one more chance to win the game in regulation.

“We had a lot of games early in the season where we were fighting back, and those have really helped us,” Englund said. “We’re getting better in game situations.”

With the team having no time-outs left, the Blugolds had to find a way to get the ball into capable hands quickly. They found Brantner on the left side of the lane.

She got the pass and dribbled to her right towards the lane. At the free-throw line, she took a couple of steps toward the rim and lofted a soft shot over two Platteville defenders. The shot landed, giving Eau Claire its second-straight WIAC championship.

“I just wanted to get some sort of shot off and it happened to go in,” Brantner said.

Brantner led the Blugolds with 19 points, including five for 10 from three-point land. Soppeland added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Kristi Channing came off the bench to score 12 points and grab eight boards.

The first 10 minutes of the first half were tight, with neither team able to establish a big lead. Then Eau Claire went on an 11-1 run to open up a 25-15 lead. The 10-point lead represented the largest of the game for Eau Claire. The Blugolds took a 42-35 lead into the break.

Platteville cut Eau Claire’s seven-point cushion to two in the second half, and the teams battled it out very evenly throughout the rest of the game.

Brantner scored 11 of her 19 points in the second half, including a three- pointer that gave the Blugolds a 60-58 lead with 8:28 to play in the game. Eau Claire kept that lead until Platteville jumped ahead 73-71 with just over two minutes to play, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.