Box Score Whether playing for a first round bye or home court advantage in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, UW-W made sure that Saturday's regular season finale at UW-River Falls will be meaningful after Whitewater's 85-50 win over the UW-Oshkosh Titans Wednesday in Kolf Gym in Oshkosh. UW-W, ranked twenty-fifth in the D3hoops.com poll, is 19-5 overall and 11-4 in the WIAC. Oshkosh is 7-17 and 1-14.

UW-Oshkosh did not score until almost six minutes into the first half.  Fortunately for the Titans, UW-W hadn't exactly been burning up the nets, only maintaining a 7-3 lead when Katie Kitzkie broke the ice on a three-pointer at 14:04. The Warhawks increased their lead to 17-8 with 8:58 on two free throws by Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale), and a layup by Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) made it 23-11 with 7:33 on the clock.  The lead reached thirteen at 25-12 and 27-14, and Emily Bestor (North Fond du Lac/Horace Mann)'s layup with 3:19 left in the half made it 31-16.  The Warhawks' went into the locker room ahead 40-24, their largest lead of the half.

Whitewater held the Titans to 30% shooting from the field, and UW-W made 9-11 free throws to outscore UW-O (5-8) from the line.  The Warhawks had five first half turnovers, Oshkosh 13.  Sophomore guard Katie Burton (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) led UW-W with 11 points, while Titan sophomore guard Katie Kitzke led both teams with 14 points.  Kitzke hit 4-5 shots, 2-2 from beyond the arc, and went 4-6 from the line.  Freshman forward Heather Conroy collected 10 rebounds in the first half for UW-O.

UW-Whitewater started the second half by outscoring the Titans 25-10, stretching their lead to 56-26 with 16:16 left.  UW-W's largest lead came at 10:23 on a layup by Amy Mandrell (Forsyth, IL/Maroa-Forsyth), 71-34.  The Warhawks led by at least 30 points the last seven minutes of the game.

Whitewater shot 46% from the floor and kept Oshkosh at 30% for the game.  The Warhawks went 19-25 from the line, Oshkosh 8-12, and UW-W led in turnovers 10-18.  The Warhawks were led by sophomore guard Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale)'s 16 points.  Burton, with her 11 points in the first half, was the only other UW-W player in double figures.  Chantel Burg (Hartford/Hartford Union) led Whitewater with eight rebounds and five assists, and Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) made four steals.  Kitzke scored 20 for UW-O, and Conroy took game honors with 11 boards.  Megan Wenig tied Burg for game high with five assists.

UW-Whitewater won both meetings with the Titans this season.  The Warhawks also won 70-56 January 18 in Whitewater.

UW-W will wrap up the WIAC schedule at UW-River Falls Saturday afternoon.  The Falcons and Warhawks are two of the four teams bunched at the top of the league.  The other results Wednesday (TBA) and Saturday's schedule will determine which two teams earn the first round tournament bye, and which teams will get home court advantage Tuesday at 7:00 as the third (hosting #6) and fourth (hosting #5) seeds.

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach