Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union)'s end to end dash and old school three point play made it a memorable night for UW-Whitewater and head coach Keri Carollo.  Whitewater won its ninth straight game, defeating UW-Eau Claire 71-70 at Zorn Arena in Eau Claire, Wisconsin Saturday night.  UW-W head coach Keri Carollo won't admit it, and may not even think of it, but for a coach who has directed her team to three consecutive NCAA III tournament appearances, won two of the last three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, and piled up 151 wins in the ninth year, the win was Carollo's first at Eau Claire.

box score

After a 4-3 Eau Claire lead 1:29 into the game UW-W went on a 14-2 run  to lead 17-6 at 14:29.  Whitewater continued to build the lead, eventually reaching 34-14 with 7:08 left in the half.  At that point Eau Claire responded with a 10-0 run, making it 34-24 at 5:35.  That margin was equaled, but Eau Claire could not get into single digits again in the first half, with the half ending 42-30 Whitewater.

Whitewater shot 50% in the first half, Eau Claire 35%.  The Blugolds went 2-3 from three point range, but Whitewater countered with 6-11 long distance shooting.  UW-EC made up some of the difference at the line, making 12-15 while Whitewater was 6-7. 

UW-W maintained that lead until less than one minute was on the clock, but the undoing began several minutes earlier.  UW-EC sophomore forward Sarah Bingea made two free throws at 3:19 to kick start a 10-2 Blugold run that ended with a layup by senior center Hannah Mesick that gave Eau Claire its first lead since early in the first half, 67-66 with 0:48 left on the clock.  The Blugolds inched up the lead to 69-66 on free throws, the first as a result of a play and the second when the Warhawks committed a foul before the inbound pass could be made.  Junior forward Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) made two free throws with 0:18 left to narrow the gap to 69-68.  UW-W fouled on the inbounds, but EC made the first and missed the second to make it 70-68 with 0:13 on the clock.  Burg rebounded the missed free throw, drove the length of the court, made a layup and was fouled with :06 left.  She completed the three point play to make it 71-70.  Eau Claire got the ball to half court, then called time out to set up a play.  An Eau Claire player drove the left baseline, but a Whitewater defender established position and took the charge.  With 1.5 seconds on the clock Whitewater attempted to inbound the ball, but threw it out of bounds without anyone touching it, giving possession back to the Blugolds underneath their own basket.  The inbounds pass resulted in a 15 foot shot from the left angle, but it bounced off the rim and UW-W, and Carollo, had the win.

After shooting 50% in the first half Whitewater shot 29% in the second twenty minutes.  Eau Claire went the other way, improving from 35% to 44%.   Both teams shot 75% from the line, but UW-EC was 27-36 and Whitewater went 15-20.  Whitewater's defense forced 26 turnovers, including 13 steals.  Whitewater had 17 turnovers. 

Burg led UW-W with 15 points, and freshman guard Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) had 12, her season high, and freshman guard Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) added 10.  Senior center Dana Thompson (Belleville/Belleville), Whitewater's leading scorer at 16.3 per game, fouled out with 5:16 left and 13 points.  Junior Jamie Swanson (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) tied for the game high with six rebounds.  Thill was credited with two steals, which ties her for third place in the Warhawk record book with 78.  She shares the third spot with Lisa Laufenberg (1991-92).  Second place belongs to her sister, Trisha, who had 90 in 2006-2007.

Mesick and Nicole Christianson, a junior guard, scored 17 apiece for the Blugolds.  Mesick and Ellen Plendl shared game rebounding honors with Swanson at six, and Christianson led both teams with five assists.  Bingea scored 15 points, had 5 assists and grabbed five rebounds.

UW-Whitewater, ranked twelfth and thirteenth in the two national Division III polls, is 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the WIAC.  UW-Eau Claire is 10-6, 4-2 in league play.

The Warhawks will travel to UW-Platteville Wednesday, January 19 to face the Pioneers with a 7:00 tipoff in Williams Fieldhouse. 

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach