The women’s basketball team improved their record to 6-1 on Saturday when they dominated UW-Stout to the tune of a 95-65 victory.
The ’Hawks are off to a good start, and they will try to take another step tonight when they play UW-La Crosse at 7 p.m.
Sophomore guard Mary Merg led the offensive attack for the ’Hawks, leading all scorers with 17 points. It was the ’Hawks’ defensive performance, however, that stood out to head coach Keri Carollo.
“I think that we played much better defensively, which is what we’ve been working on this past week,” Carollo said. “Our intensity and toughness on defense was a lot better.”
Carollo credited senior Jamie Swanson for helping to set the tone for defensive intensity and getting her teammates ready.
Swanson said she believes the atmosphere of the game is what led to the ’Hawks’ better defensive effort.
“Our coaches, our bench, and playing at home got us really pumped and ready for the game, and I think that’s what got everyone to be so intense and to fly around on defense,” Swanson said.
The ’Hawks have had great scoring throughout the season, but a big issue for the team has been defensive rebounding.
“Our girls would play great defense, but then when a shot would go up they’d relax and lose the intensity when it should be the opposite,” Carollo said.
For that reason, the team focused intently on maintaining intensity for every second of practice and hoped it would translate to the game.
“Our coaches were awesome this week in practice,” Swanson said. “They were so excited and intense all week, so practices were really fun. I think it paid off a lot tonight.”
With the full-court press the ’Hawks run, they need a productive bench because playing at such a fast pace means the starters cannot play the entire game. Fortunately, the ’Hawks bench has players like juniors Steff Glynn and Sam Quandt, who can step in and be productive.
“The way we play, it’s nice to know we have a deep team with a lot of girls who can come in and keep things going without missing a beat,” Swanson said.
