The UW-Whitewater Warhawks lost by 10 points to UW-Stout in the WIAC tournament. But since receiving the nod from the committee to play in the NCAA Tournament, they’ve won by a combined margin of 63 points with victories over the University of Minnesota-Morris and Millikin University in their first two tournament matchups. Despite their regular season success, the Warhawks, without an automatic bid, needed the committee to determine if their season would continue and compete in the NCAA tournament. The committee gave Whitewater the opportunity to continue their season and they are making the best of it. Through two do-or-die games, the Warhawks have been successful.
“Whitewater is fantastic, the best team we’ve seen all year. We played scholarship schools, and I don’t think we’ve seen a team as good as Whitewater, even with the scholarship schools we faced,” said Minnesota-Morris head coach Tim Grove after Friday’s game.
Against Minnesota-Morris, the Warhawks jumped out to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and cruised to victory, with the final score being 86-47.
“I’m really proud of our team and how we came out. [I] thought we came out with a really strong start, which I was really happy about,” said Warhawks head coach Keri Carollo, on Friday in a press conference after the game against Minnesota Morris.
Both Grove and Carollo had a mutual level of respect for each other’s programs with Carollo saying, “I want to make sure that we give credit to our opponent. They had a great season, and they have a lot to be proud of… tons of respect to Tim and his program,” said Carollo.
One day later, the Warhawks and Millikin University Big Blue matched up. Fueled by opening-round victories and the need to win, both teams started the game by trading baskets. The Warhawks’ 8-2 run to start the game was met by a 6-2 run by the Big Blue. At 5:28 in the first quarter, the Warhawks led 10-8. However, by the end of the first quarter, the Warhawks led 24-15. The Warhawks maintained a double-digit lead en route to victory for the next three quarters.
Senior Aleah Grundahl and junior Kacie Carollo combined for 53 points. Carollo, who had 27 points, also finished with 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Carollo’s stat line 27/13/10 made for the first triple-double in the program’s history.
“I have zero idea of how many points, rebounds, and assists I have when I’m playing. I usually just keep track of how many turnovers I have,” said Kacie, who went on to say, “It’s all credit to my teammates. You don’t get assists if they don’t make baskets, [I] don’t get points if they don’t set screens… so it’s all them.”
Kacie and her teammates like to get in a flow state when playing games. The flow state of mind is typically a mindset that allows someone to focus on the now in order to accomplish a task while filtering out distractions.
“I talk a lot with Aleah about getting to a flow state. We talk about that a lot as a team, too. Once you’re in the flow of the game, you kinda don’t feel anything but what’s happening between the lines of the floors,” Kacie said.
Both tournament games for the Warhawks happened on their home court, Kachel Gymnasium. The Warhawk’s next game against Hope College (Michigan) will also be in Whitewater. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 8.