Refuse to lose. That really could be said about both teams in the UW-Whitewater game at UW-La Crosse Wednesday night, won by UW-W 69-64.
Box Score
Although La Crosse took the lead with more than sixteen minutes left in the first half, UW-W was hanging close, trailing 15-12 at 9:11 on a Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) layup. The Eagles followed that with a 12-0 surge that opened some daylight, the largest lead of the half at 27-12 with 6:14 left. Whitewater closed to within eight at halftime, 32-24. UW-L out-rebounded Whitewater 30-16 in the first twenty minutes and held UW-W to just 25% shooting from the field.
Whitewater outscored UW-L 8-2 to start the second half to pull within two, 34-32 with a Cortney Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) jumper at 17:22. The Eagles slowly built the lead back to 11, 50-39 and 52-41, but Whitewater rallied, regaining their first lead of the second half at 59-58 on another Kumerow jumper in the lane with exactly four minutes left. The Warhawks stretched their run to 11-0, and their lead to five at 63-58 at the 1:52 mark before La Crosse broke the spell. La Crosse was just as tenacious, closing the gap to 63-62 on a Stacie Van Handel layup with 1:07 left. UW-W senior guard Nicole Bundy (Fredonia/Ozaukee), the team's hottest scorer of late, got the two back with a jumper with 0:37 remaining to make it 65-62 as La Crosse called a time out with 0:32 on the clock. Bundy stole the ball after the inbounds, and another UW-W senior guard, Kelsey Hendrickson (Monroe/Monroe) was fouled and made two free throws at 0:28 for a 67-62 lead. Lindsey Litrenta drove to the basket for two with 0:22 left to make it 67-64, but Bundy made both free throws as La Crosse was forced to foul.
Whitewater overcame a ten rebound deficit by forcing 18 Eagle turnovers, double Whitewater's total. Whitewater had 11 steals, La Crosse just two. The Warhawks brought their shooting percentage up to 38% for the game and brought UW-L down to 41%.
Whitewater was led by its trio of senior guards. Bundy scored 16, including 4-4 from the line; Hendrickson added 15, going 6-6 from the line; and Heidi Sonntag (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) scored 12. Bundy also the Warhawks with ten rebounds, and she tied Hendrickson with three steals. Sonntag was tops with five assists.
Junior guard Lindsey Litrenta took game scoring honors with 18 points, hitting 3-4 three pointers. Junior center Danielle Frank compiled a double double, scoring 17 and led all rebounders with 15 boards.
UW-W is 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-L is 14-7 and 6-5.
UW-W will return to action at UW-River Falls Saturday. The next home game for the Warhawks will be Saturday, February 13 at 3:00 versus UW-Eau Claire. The UW-EC game will be the Mercy Health Systems Pink Zone game, benefitting the fight against breast cancer.
For additional information: Keri Carollo, UW-W coach at 262-472-5782 or at carollok@uww.edu
