The UW-Whitewater Warhawks competed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s basketball tournament Feb. 23 and 25, where they fought hard and won against UW-Stevens Point and then fell in the semifinals to UW-La Crosse.
In the opening round, the No. 3 seeded Warhawks jumped on Stevens Point with authority. The Warhawks started the first quarter strong offensively, and led 22-9 at the end of the period.
At the end of the second quarter, senior guard Renee Rittmeyer gave the highlight of the night with a buzzer-beater. Whitewater was still in control with a comfortable 36-25 halftime lead.
(Charlie Clark)
“The halftime message really revolved around getting the 50/50 ball and staying strong against our opponent,” head coach Keri Carollo said.
After halftime, both teams came out strong and scored an even 22-22 in the third quarter. As the fourth quarter started and the end started closing in, the score got close. With only one minute left, the score was 62-57. Nonetheless, the Warhawks closed out the game and won 67-61.
“This was definitely a revenge game against Stevens Point after last Wednesday’s loss,” junior forward Mia Gillis said.
Balance was a key factor in this game with both junior guard Bri McCurdy and freshman forward Brooke Stenklyft each scoring 15 points, while Gillis scored 14.
“It was so important to come out so strong at both the beginning of the game and after halftime,” freshman forward Brooke Stenklyft said.
The win meant that the Warhawks advanced in the tournament and moved on to playing in La Crosse. This game was tougher for the Warhawks, with the Eagles being the No. 8 team in the NCAA power index.
La Crosse started off aggressive and had a 22-7 lead at the beginning of the first quarter. The Warhawks had a strong nine-point run to cut the lead to six, but by the end of the first half La Crosse was winning 47-26.
The Warhawks saw similar struggles in the second half, and eventually fell 77-54, marking the end of the Warhawks’ WIAC tournament run.
The Warhawks’ depth led the team in scoring, with freshman guard Kaitlyn Sedillo and sophomore forward Maddie Anderson each scoring 9 points during the game.
The Warhawks are expected to receive an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. The selection show will take place March 2 at 1:30 p.m., where the team will learn where and who they will play.
