UW-Stevens Point defeated UW-Whitewater 68-64 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon at Kachel in Williams Center in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  UW-SP, 21-6 and the WIAC regular season runner-up, earns the league's automatic berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championship tournament which begins play with first round regional games Friday, March 5.

box score
Photo Gallery (courtesy of Tim Gumz)

UW-W sprinted out to a 9-0 start with the help of four points from freshman center Cortney Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin).  The Pointers never led in the first half but did pull within 24-22 at 6:48 on a jumper by junior guard Andrea Flease.  The Warhawks closed the half with a 10-3 surge, giving them a 39-26 lead at halftime.

That margin almost vanished early in the second half, with Point turning the tables, out-scoring the Warhawks 11-2 to make it 41-37 at 14:27.  Whitewater came back 6-0 to put the margin back in double figures at 47-37 at 12:25, the last double digit lead of the game.  Point chipped away at the lead, eventually knotting the game at 57-57 on two free throws by Josi Schultz with 2:49 left.  UW-SP followed that with their first lead of the game courtesy of sophomore guard Cassie Bandow.  Whitewater would not regain the lead, with Bandow hitting a crucial three pointer with 0:38 left to give UW-SP a 64-59 lead.  The Pointers scored their four points at the free throw line, and went 10-10 in the last three minutes of the game.  

Point made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line, hitting 19-25 to 14-19 for the Warhawks.  The Pointers also found their shooting eye in the locker room at halftime, hitting 64% in the second half, while Whitewater left theirs behind, hitting 25% over the final twenty minutes.

UW-W senior guard Nicole Bundy (Fredonia/Ozaukee) led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 4-7 from beyond the arc and 6-7 from the line.  Kumerow scored 19 and senior guard Heidi Sonntag (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) 14.  UW-W used nine players in the game, five made it into the scoring column.  Sophomore forward Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) led both teams with nine rebounds, and senior point guard Kelsey Hendrickson (Monroe/Monroe) dished out five assists.  Sonntag was playing in her 112th game for the Warhawks, tying Sharon Romel (1981-85) and Meghan Schmidt (Port Washington/Port Washington) (2005-2009) for the school record.

Bandow led a trio of Pointer double figure scorers with 14. Schultz contributed 13 and freshman guard Liz Althoff 11. Junior center Britta Petersen led UW-SP with eight boards and Flease had five assists. 

UW-W, 20-7 and the WIAC regular season champion, will await word on a possible at-large berth in the NCAA III tourney. Bids, matchups and regional sites for the first and second rounds March 5-6, will be announced Monday at noon.

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach