Feb. 1, 2017

The No. 17 UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team had an up-and-down week when it lost at UW-Stevens Point 70-57 Jan. 25, but rebounded with a 67-53 victory over UW-La Crosse at home Jan. 28.

The Warhawks were on an eight-game winning streak before the loss to the Pointers, and it was not a good night for the ’Hawks.

The team was held to just 31.7 percent shooting, and 23.1 percent on three-pointers in the end.

UW-W got off a good start in the first half but the Pointers rallied for a 9-0 run in the second quarter to take a 24-16 lead. Freshman guard Becky Raeder scored five straight to bring the Warhawks within three, but the Pointers scored on the other end to go into halftime with a 26-21 lead.

UW-SP would maintain the lead for the rest of the match.

Junior guard Malia Smith scored a team-high 11 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore and freshman guards Olivia Freckmann and Becky Raeder collected 10 points each.

Throughout the first three quarters against UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater’s play looked all too similar to when the team played UW-Stevens Point just a few days earlier.

UW-W was shooting 25 percent as a team and were trailing by seven when the fourth quarter began.

“We didn’t play on our heels,” Whitewater head coach Keri Carollo said. “It felt like the whole game, even on defense, we were really lackadaisical and we just didn’t have a lot of energy. We were not playing as hard as we normally play, kind of a lot like we saw against UW-Stevens Point. It just wasn’t there.”

But, as soon as the fourth quarter started, the Warhawks finally started bringing the heat.

UW-W began the final frame with a stiff, full-court press defense that led to a 14-0 run. The first seven came from junior guard Malia Smith.

The Eagles eventually narrowed the deficit to four with just over three minutes remaining, but junior guard Brooke Trewyn got things brewing for the ’Hawks in clutch time.

With 2:40 remaining, Trewyn dropped a putback off her own rebound over a defender, and the Warhawks, in the blink of an eye, were back up 13 that sealed the game.

Carollo said she was proud of Trewyn’s tenacity late in the game.

“We always try and tell her that if she’s not shooting well, to get on the glass and get yourself going that way,” Carollo said. “That’s the great thing about her. Even when she’s not scoring, she does so many other great things for us with her rebounding and just being a great teammate.”

Four Warhawk players ended the game in double digits as Smith dropped 17 points, Freckmann poured in 12, Trewyn added 11 points and 12 rebounds, while senior guard Reilly Stewart tallied 10 points.

UW-W improved to 7-1 in WIAC play and take on UW-Platteville Feb. 1 in Whitewater.