The UW-Whitewater Women’s Basketball team closed out regular season play this past week. The Warhawks had their final home matchup Wednesday, Feb. 14, during their annual Play4Kay game against UW-Platteville, in a game that saw a lot of back-and-forth action throughout most of the game, along with another record-breaking performance by senior forward Aleah Grundahl.
After the first quarter, the Warhawks held a four-point deficit to the Pioneers. Whitewater’s offense came alive in the second quarter, doubling Platteville’s scoring total in the second quarter, 24-12, as Whitewater went into the break with a 44-36 lead. The lead was tested routinely throughout the remainder of the contest, as both teams held momentum at different points in the second half.
“They were super athletic and fast,” head coach Keri Carollo said following the game. “We were just trying to keep them in front of us and slow them down as best as we could. They’re a really good team, so I thought we did a good job on the offensive end, getting shots when we needed them. We did a good job of answering their momentum.”
Kacie Carollo led the Warhawks in scoring with 22 points on the night, but Grundahl stole the show. Grundahl scored 14 points on the night, which was just enough for her to break the all-time WIAC scoring record, which had been held by Arlene Meinholz of UW-Eau Claire since 1995. At the end of the game against UW-Platteville, Grundahl’s point total was 1,835 for her career.
“I had no idea it was happening,” Grundahl stated after the game. “I didn’t know until they called it. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have done this without my teammates and coaches.”
Carollo was ecstatic after the game, stating, “It’s incredible. The things that she does for us every single night are amazing, and she deserves this.”
The Warhawks finished regular season play with a 22-3 record following their 72-71 win on Saturday against the UW-River Falls Falcons. They will advance to the semi-finals of the WIAC tournament as the second seed in the bracket and will face the highest remaining seed of UW-River Falls, UW-Stout, UW-La Crosse, and UW-Platteville Wednesday, Feb. 22, in the Kachel Gymnasium in Whitewater.
