Dec. 4

By Daniel Schoettler

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team overcame a 20-point deficit in the first half to capture an 85-71 win Wednesday night.  Kaitlyn Thill sparked the comeback with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Warhawks to victory.

“Our seniors really led us,” head coach Keri Carollo said. “It’s great to see and not only our seniors, but some of our younger players stepped in and gave us a great spark. Just believing in each other that they can win, never giving up, staying the course and staying focused.”

It seemed like every shot was going in for the Elmhurst College Blue Jays in the first half. The Blue Jays shot 58.1 percent from the field in the first half while the ’Hawks shot 26.3 percent in the half.

The Blue Jays took it to the ’Hawks early with a 17-2 run to start the game and the lead hit 20 twice during the game.

Momentum changed in the second half, as the ’Hawks started the second half with an 11-4 run to begin the half. The Blue Jays then responded to the Carollo’s club with a 13-2 run of their own.

The ’Hawks then dominated the rest of the game going on a 40-9 run the rest of the game.

The preseason favorites to win the WIAC turned their fortunes around in the second half, shooting 48.6 percent from the field while the Blue Jays shot 37.5 percent in the second half.

“We definitely stuck together, and that’s definitely what we needed,” Thill said. “We kicked it the first half when we couldn’t hit a shot. Defense definitely wins games and that’s what we did. We boxed out the second half and gave them no second chances.”

The ’Hawks won the battle from the free-throw line shooting 89.7 percent from the line while the Blue Jays shot 58.7 percent from the line.

Senior Mary Merg had 16 points for the ’Hawks while also recording her 1,000th point in her collegiate career.

Senior Amy Mandrell also contributed 16 points to the ’Hawks’ effort. The fourth Warhawk player in double figures was freshman Andrea Olsen with 10 points.

With the win, the team improves to 6-1 on the season. The ’Hawks begin WIAC play at 3 p.m. on Saturday at home against UW-Stout.