In a match-up of nationally ranked teams, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Stevens Point 76-71 at Berg Gymnasium Thursday night.

box score

This was a Kaopectate game, for both coaches.  Point blew out of the gates with a 13-1 run on the way to a 17-3 lead midway through the half.  Trailing 22-9, UW-W turned the tables on the Pointers with a 21-3 run, ten of those from Heidi Sonntag (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) and seven from Kelsey Hendrickson (Monroe/Monroe), to give Whitewater a 30-25 lead at the half.

The ebb and flow of the second half saw UW-W hold a twelve point lead, 59-47 at 8:49, and the Pointers pulling within two, 64-62 with 2:49 left.  Hendrickson and Sonntag, UW-W's backcourt, held off UW-SP in the waning minutes scoring ten of the last twelve points, seven coming from the free throw line.

Forty of the points in the game came from the line.  UW-Whitewater made 19-24 and Stevens Point hit 21-34.  Whitewater's defense came up with thirteen steals.

Sonntag led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 7-10 from the floor (including 2-2 threes) and 6-6 from the line.  Hendrickson added 21 points and a game high seven steals.  Freshman Cortney Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin), playing in the post, scored 12.   Nicole Bundy (Fredonia/Ozaukee) led both teams with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.  UW-SP's top scorer was guard Cathy Bandow with 18 and backcourt mate Andrea Flease contributing 12 points and a game high eight assists.  Junior center Britta Petersen scored 16 points.

UW-Whitewater is ranked eleventh and twelfth in the two national Division III polls this week, and UW-Stevens Point is twenty-fourth in both.  The Warhawks are 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  UW-SP is 5-3 and 1-2.

UW-Whitewater will play at UW-Superior December 12, then move to the opposite end of the mercury for a tournament in Las Vegas December 18-19. 

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach