The 4th-ranked UW-Whitewater women’s basketball tipped off their 2024-25 campaign with a 64-58 win against the No. 24 DePauw Tigers at home last week.
The first half saw the Warhawks and Tigers battle it out on the hardwood, ending the half with a 32-29 Whitewater lead. Senior guard Kacie Carollo ignited the Warhawk offense with 10 points and 3 assists in the first half. DePauw senior guard Ava Hassell led the score column with 8 points and junior guard Riley Mont right behind her with 6 points.
“DePauw is a great team, so we knew they were going to hang around with us no matter what the situation was,” senior guard Kacie Carollo said. “I think the biggest thing for us, our conditioning has set us apart in a lot of games.”
While neither team saw a drastic difference in team stats, one in particular stood out for the Warhawks: points in the paint. Whitewater built their first-half lead due to outscoring the Tigers in the paint, 20-12. By the end of the game, the Warhawks ballooned their scoring discrepancy inside to 34-22.
“DePauw is super athletic and quick, but they don’t have a lot of size. So we figured, if we got our size in there, and we’re pretty physical, we could maybe take advantage of that, and I thought we did,” head coach Keri Carollo said.
A 15-5 scoring run helped open the second half by the Warhawks, jumping out to a 47-34 lead. Whitewater finished the third quarter strong, maintaining their lead at 51-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
“We always talk about how, at the start of the game, the start of the second half, most teams are rested, so you’re gonna get that initial approach,” Keri Carollo said. “We try to do a good job of making sure we don’t let them get into a rhythm of scoring in back to back to back possessions.”
While DePauw outscored Whitewater 20-13 in the fourth quarter, the Warhawk’s defensive effort throughout the entirety of the game allowed them to secure their first victory of the season. The biggest defender that stood out for Whitewater was sophomore guard Bri McCurdy. Throughout the entirety of the game, McCurdy played full-court defnese against the Tigers, applying immediate pressure after every Whitewater score. McCurdy wracked up 2 steals against the Tigers, but her greatest impact came from her defensive effort
“Our defense looked pretty good for being the first game of the year – I was really impressed,” Keri Carollo said. “Being able to put stops together and then hit buckets when you need them, right? That’s crucial…it was great to see our team step up and get it done.”
Kacie Carollo opened her senior campaign with 19 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. D3hoops.com named her to the Preseason All-American Second Team for the 2024-2025 season.
“We conditioned super, super hard in the preseason, so that in third and fourth quarters we still have that motor to keep going. And then with that comes our defensive consistency and our discipline,” Kacie Carollo said. “In the third quarter, we were able to sit down, play D, get rebounds, get stops, and then run in transition…that was the big difference maker for us.”
Another notable Warhawk performance includes senior Mallory Oloffson, who finished with 9 points on 4-6 shooting with 4 rebounds. Oloffson started in only her second game of her collegiate career after sitting behind Warhawk women’s basketball legend Aleah Grundahl the last three seasons.
“She was excited to be able to be in the starting lineup and play a big role for us, so that was really kind of neat to see her have a great game,” Keri Carollo said. “It’s really great to see the amount of confidence that they have in themselves and each other. The balance of our team is really special. The connection that they have with each other is really special.”
The Warhawks took down the Lakeland Muskies the next day, 78-35. Kacie Carollo finished the game with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Oloffson finished with 10 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Freshman guard Ashley Schlabowske put up 9 points, 4 assists and 2 steals in her collegiate debut.
The Warhawks hit the road Saturday, Nov. 16 and Wednesday Nov. 20 against Carroll University and Concordia-Wisconsin, respectively, before returning to Kachel Gymnasium Tuesday, Nov. 26 to take on Illinois Wesleyan at 6 p.m.
