By: Daniel Schoettler
The Warhawks women’s basketball team beat UW-Stout on a recording-setting night at UW-Whitewater Saturday. The ’Hawks got off to a hot start with a 23-7 run to begin the game, and they never looked back.
The Warhawks had four players in double figures. Junior Mary Merg led the team with 13 points. Merg was followed in scoring by senior Megan Theune and Junior Kaitlyn Thill, who both had 12 points apiece. Freshman Abbie Reeves also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Junior Kaitlynn Thill broke the all-time record for career steals in the game.
“It’s definitely great because I did it in three years and not four, which is definitely important,” Thill said after the game.
Coach Keri Carollo said she was happy with Thill’s record-breaking accomplishment.
“I’m extremely proud of her,” Carollo said. “It’s a huge accomplishment. She’s done it in three years, which is even more amazing. So it is nice to see her reach that goal and now continue to add on to it.”
Thill wasn’t the only Warhawk to put her name in the record books on Saturday night. Senior Cortney Kumerow scored her 1000th point and pulled down her 500th rebound. She became the sixth player in school history to do so.
“I feel really good about it,” Kumerow said. “I was really excited. I actually didn’t know that I was even close to either of those, so it was really cool. ”
The Warhawks are now 13-5 overall and 7-2 in the WIAC. Currently, the conference standings are tight. Four teams have two losses each in conference.
“[This was a] big important win for us,” Carollo said . “We haven’t been shooting well the last couple of games. It’s nice to see us shoot the ball well and play the way together.This was a huge confidence builder for our team.”
“The win was definitely a big movement forward just because I feel we played a lot harder in this game than the last few games,” Thill said.
It was Treyton Kilar Youth Day at the Kachel Gymnasium, which is a fundraiser for the Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams. Treyton Kilar was a child who was killed by a drunk driver, and the team members had some thoughts on the significance of Treyton Kilar Day.
“It means a lot to represent the younger ones that come out to watch our games,” Thill said.
Carollo also reflected on the importance of Treyton’s memory.
“This event is always important,” Carollo said. “Treyton has always been a big part of the community, and we think of a lot of the youth of the community, and it’s important to give back.”
