In a game played at the frenetic pace of a prescription drug ad disclaimer, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-La Crosse 71-59 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game at Kachel Gym in Williams Center in Whitewater, Wisconsin Friday night.  UW-W, 21-5, will play UW-Stevens Point, 24-2, in Stevens Point Sunday at 2:00 for the tournament championship and the league's automatic berth in the NCAA III tournament.

UW-Whitewater women's basketball postseason web site
box score
photo gallery (courtesy of Richard Guidry; all photos are for sale)

La Crosse led 2-1, all of the points coming on free throws, until freshman guard Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) made the first basket of the game at 16:44 to give UW-W a 3-2 lead.  UW-L scored the next seven points, and held the Warhawks scoreless until junior forward Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) scored to make it 9-5 with 13:45 left in the first half.  A Burg jumper tied the game 11-11 at 10:34, but the Eagles opened a 20-14 gap to equal their largest lead of the half.  Whitewater turned the tables with a 7-0 spurt to lead 21-20 at 5:04, and the game teetered back and forth until La Crosse held a 30-27 lead with seconds to go.  Burg went the length of the court, was fouled attempting a shot, and her two free throws cut the UW-L lead to 30-29 at halftime.

La Crosse shot 40%, Whitewater 32% from the floor in the half.  Whitewater caused 14 Eagle turnovers, while committing 10 of its own.  The only time either team got a respite from the whirlwind action was at the line, where Whitewater hit 7-8 and La Crosse 6-7. 

Thill scored the first points of the second half on a driving layin to give UW-W a 31-30 lead.  With the game tied 38-38, UW-W's pinball defense led an 8-0 run over a span of 80 seconds to put the Warhawks in front 46-38 with 14:29 left.  It was more than three minutes before senior guard Taylor Larson hit a pair of free throws to break the drought for La Crosse, making it 46-40 at 11:20.  Whitewater used a 9-1 run to spread margin to 57-45 with 6:34 left, but the Eagles scored the next six points to cut UW-W's lead to 57-51 at the 4:41 mark.  The Whitewater defense held UW-L without a score from 3:11 to 1:58, when senior forward Dana Churchill made two free throws to make it 61-55 Whitewater.  With the clock conspiring against the Eagles, UW-L was forced to rush three point shots (going 1-5 in the last two minutes) and foul Whitewater to stop the clock, but UW-W went 12-14 from the line in the final minutes to foil the strategy. 

The pace of the game took its toll, as the defenses forced a combined 46 turnovers, split evenly.  Neither team shot above 41% (Eagles 41%, Warhawks 35%).  La Crosse made more threes, 7-23 to 2-11 for UW--W, but Whitewater made up the points at the line, making 25-31 to 14-21 for UW-L.

Whitewater junior forward Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) led both teams with 18 points, and shared the team lead with nine rebounds.  Senior center Dana Thompson (Belleville/Belleville) also grabbed nine boards, and scored 15 points.  Warhawk head coach Keri Carollo used ten players at least thirteen minutes, and nine of them scored.  Churchill led UW-L with 17 points, and senior guard Melissa Lang scored 10.  Senior center Danielle Frank pulled down a game high 14 rebounds, blocked two shots and altered numerous others.

The teams, who tied for second place in the WIAC's regular season, split their earlier games.  UW-W won 83-62 in La Crosse December 1, and La Crosse won 73-66 in Whitewater February 3.  La Crosse is 20-6.

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach
UW-Whitewater women's basketball postseason web site