The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team is making habit out of cutting nets down in the WIAC.

The No.12 Warhawks (24-3) outlasted No.23 UW-Oshkosh (21-6) 68-65 in the WIAC Tournament Championship final Feb.24 at Kachel Gymnasium.

It is the second time in as many years the Warhawks defeated the Titans in the championship game, and it is the first time in program history the team captured both the WIAC regular season and tournament championships.

“It’s so hard to do, as you can see by the game tonight,” head coach Keri Carollo said regarding the Warhawks’ sweep of the WIAC. “This is a tournament type game atmosphere. It’s great for this group because they started out .500 their freshman year. To be able to put this on their goals…, and then achieve it, is pretty incredible.”

The Warhawks deployed a balance attack offensively, with four players cracking double digit scoring. Senior guard Brooke Trewyn and junior center Sarah Schumacher tied for a team-high 12 points, while senior forward Andrea Meinert and junior forward Olivia Freckmann notched 10 points and 11 points, respectively.

“That’s the great thing about our team, is that anyone can score any given night,” Trewyn said. “It’s awesome when we have a couple people scoring in double digits because it’s hard for teams to stop. They can’t capitalize on one person, or just key in on one person to stop.”

The Warhawk-Titan rematch lived up to the championship status, with both squads trading baskets throughout. The two teams exchanged the lead 10 times, and no quarter was separated by more than three points. After the Titans made a pair of free throws with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter to trim the Warhawk advantage to 22-17, neither team was able to build more than a two-possession lead the rest of the game.

The Warhawks finally got the stop they needed when Trewyn nabbed a steal with the Warhawks up 67-65 with 11 seconds remaining in the game. Senior guard Malia Smith to the free throw line, who converted one of two free throws.

Down three, the Titans attempted a 3-pointer to tie, but it clanked off the backboard, and the Warhawks bench stormed the court in celebration.

“I just knew that we had to get a stop,” Trewyn said. “She was dribbling the ball out a little bit in front, so I just tried to get my hand on it and I did.”

The timely takeaway put Trewyn’s season steals total to 69, which is the 12th most in a single season in program history.

With the win, the Warhawks moved to 3-0 against the Titans this season.

“Beating someone three times does get hard because they know what you’re doing, how to beat you, how to stop you,” sophomore guard Becky Raeder said. “But it’s the same the other way around.”

The victory gives the Warhawks an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, and with their strong resume, the team will likely host several home games.

“That was one of our goals we talked about, we really aimed to win this because we wanted to host, which means we don’t have to travel and we can have fans and be on our home court,” Raeder said. “It’s definitely an advantage we now have.”

The Warhawks hold a 13-1 record at Kachel Gymnasium this season.

UW-W will ride a 10-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament. It is the second time this season the Warhawks have strung together a double-digit winning streak.

The Warhawks will look to carry their winning ways into the tournament and cut a few more nets down when the team starts their quest for its first National Championship.

“We just can’t be satisfied,” Carollo said. “I even said at the end there, ‘enjoy this but we still have work to do, we are not done yet.’”

this but we still have work to do, we are not done yet.’”