UW-Whitewater’s women’s basketball team closed out the regular season with a 65-56 win over UW-Eau Claire. It was slow going at first, as the Warhawks relied on their defense to keep them in the game with their offense scoring just 10 points in the first quarter and ending the first half with a 27-22 lead. The second half was an offensive sprint, with the Warhawks outscoring Eau Claire 38-34.
With this victory, the Warhawks have clinched the No. 3 seed in the WIAC tournament. They now begin preparing for their Tuesday first round game vs UW-River Falls.
Going into the tournament, the team is riding a four-game win streak. Head coach Keri Carollo acknowledged the importance of having momentum going into the postseason.
“It’s huge. It is definitely a big confidence builder, and to know that we’re playing pretty good basketball right now is important, especially at this time of year,” Keri Carollo said. “I’m really proud of how we’re playing and we need to continue this momentum into the tournament.”
The players on the team are ready to go for the postseason, and they’re taking it one game at a time.
“Everyone’s 0-0, we’re back to the basics. Everyone’s back to square one,” senior Kacie Carollo said. “Whatever happened during the season doesn’t matter anymore. We’re ready to go and ready to lay it all on the line.”
The game against Eau Claire was also senior night, and each of the five seniors on the team were honored during an emotional halftime ceremony. However, the players knew they needed to stay focused and continue to play winning basketball.
“It was an intense game, we knew it was senior day, so we wanted to run through the seniors and end the season on a positive note going into tournament time,” senior Maggie Trautsch said. “I thought we handled it well, played together, stood the course and got the win.”
Keri Carollo took some time after the game to reflect on the four-to-five years that she had with the seniors on the team, and the impact that they have had.
“Every year is really hard, because we have had tremendous classes of seniors. To have five [seniors] together is really special. This class has been able to do phenomenal things athletically. They’re all amazing women, phenomenal students, great stewards of the community and just really embody everything that Warhawk basketball is all about,” Keri Carollo said. “I’m really proud of them and of everything that they’ve accomplished over the years.”
To cap off senior night, both Kacie Carollo and Maggie Trautsch set program records. Kacie Carollo became the program leader in rebounds with her first rebound of the game, and the 825th rebound of her career. Trautsch joined the 1,000-point club, making her the 20th player in program history to reach that milestone. While both players appreciated their accomplishments, they gave credit to their teammates and coaches.
“It’s definitely part of the process. We don’t come to Whitewater thinking ‘I want to set the points record’ or ‘the rebounding record’ or whatever the case may be. It’s more that we trust the process, we trust our coach, we work hard every day and then those things just come with the success of our team. We definitely couldn’t do it without any of the teammates or coaches,” Kacie Carollo said.
The Warhawks now shift their attention to the postseason, tipping off the WIAC tournament just days after senior day. Their first round matchup is against UW-River Falls, a team that they swept in the regular season. The game will start at 7 p.m. in Kachel Gymnasium, Tuesday, Feb. 25.
