The No. 7 UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team defeated the UW-Platteville Pioneers 56-35 in Kachel Gymnasium Wednesday, Feb. 9. 

The Warhawks wore special white and pink uniforms to support fundraising efforts for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund to honor cancer warriors in the fight against all cancers affecting women. Many college women’s basketball teams around the nation joined in to bring attention to the foundation.

The Warhawks dominated defensively, only allowing the Pioneers to score on 13 of their 48 shots from the field while tallying a whopping 21 steals and four blocked shots. Sophomore guard Maggie Trausch was able to strip the ball five times. They held Platteville to 27% shooting from the field and forced an astounding 28 turnovers which led to 29 points off turnovers. 

Much of the scoring came from second-chance opportunities from the Warhawk’s leading scorer, senior forward Aleah Grandahl, who came down with six offensive-rebounds and led the Warhawks with 13 points. Freshman guard Kacie Carollo was able to complement Grundahl’s scoring with 10 points off the bench as well as two steals.

The Pioneer’s struggles continue as their losing streak hits ten straight, they sit at the bottom of the WIAC. Pioneers senior guard Allison Heckert, Whitewater High School alum, tallied 12 points on 4-5 shooting.

Assistant coach Kirsten Hammer celebrated the victory, showing her admiration for the team’s success and excitement for the postseason. 

“Holding nothing back this season and continuing to challenge these young ladies everyday to get better,” said Hammer, “But the job’s not done.” 

The Warhawks improved to 22-2, 12-1 in the conference, as they defeated UW-Stout on Senior Day, Saturday Fed. 12, in Kachel Gymnasium. The 87-56 victory sealed the outright regular season conference title for the team. This is the tenth time the Warhawks have won the WIAC regular season title, which they last won in the 2019-20 season.

Aleah Grundahl was the leading scorer against the Blue Devils, she knocked down 18 points on 42.9% shooting and had three steals. One of the team’s three seniors, Johanna Taylor, recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Other seniors, Rebekah Schumacher and Courtney Oomens, had nine points with three rebounds and a rebound and an assist, respectively.

The seventh ranked team in the nation will close out the regular season in Oshkosh Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. The Warhawks will then take on the WIAC conference tournament, winning the conference title would be the team’s seventh conference tournament championship and secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, in pursuit of the program’s first national title.