Box Score Third time is not the charm.  UW-Whitewater fell to UW-Stevens Point 80-61 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship game Saturday afternoon in Stevens Point.  The Pointers also won both regular season matchups, 71-50 December 14, and 80-58 January 25 in Whitewater.  With the WIAC Tournament title, UW-Stevens Point, 23-4, earns the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III championship tournament.  UW-Whitewater, 22-6, will await word about an at-large berth when  the field is announced Monday.

The first half resembled waves in a pool, one peak running into another, flattening out, followed by another.  The teams exchanged the lead six times.  A three pointer from Emily Bestor (North Fond du Lac/Horace Mann) put Whitewater in front 10-5 at 16:29, Whitewater's largest lead of the half.  Point followed with a 12-0 run, ending with Brooke Allen's layup at 12:46, to lead 17-10, UW-SP's largest lead of the half.  Whitewater countered with an 8-0 surge, with Cortney Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) hitting a pair of free throws for an 18-17 Whitewater lead at 10:54.  By 9:33 the Pointers had pushed back into a 25-20 lead on Cassie Bandow's three pointer.  Katie Burton (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South)'s free throw at 8:10 got the lead back for UW-W, 26-25.  With the score knotted at 34-34, Point outscored Whitewater 8-2 to close out the half and take a 42-36 lead into the lockerroom.

Both teams shot well, Whitewater hitting 5-10 threes (50%) and 11-13 free throws (85%), with Point better enough in each category to hold the lead, shooting 6-10 on three-pointers (60%) and 12-13 (92%) from the line.  Senior guard Cassie Bandow scored 15 points for UW-SP in the half, hitting 4-7 shots, including 3-4 on threes, and 4-4 free throws.  Kumerow scored ten for UW-W with five rebounds.

Whitewater cut the margin to 42-40 on  Burton jumper at 16:52 of the second half, but that proved to be the beginning of the end.  UW-SP had upped its margin to double figures, 52-42 on an Ashley Averkamp layin at 12:55.  After flirting with a ten to twelve point margin for four minutes, UW-W pulled within eight, 58-50 on a Steff Glynn (Eagan, MN/Eastview) rebound put-back.  Point scored the two baskets, and other than a nine point margin at 6:15, Point continued to add to its lead, eventually reaching 80-59 with 2:10 remaining. 

Stevens Point wound up making 10-16 (63%) from beyond the arc and making 20 of 26 free throws.  Whitewater finished 6-12 (50%) on threes and 13-16 (81%) from the line.  Those differences accounted for twelve of the final margin of nineteen points.  UW-SP junior guard Sam Barber led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Bando's 19 and 15 from Brooke Allen.  Barber was also the leading rebounder in the game, with eight.  Kumerow topped UW-W with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) dished out four assists.

The NCAA III tournament begins with first and second round games March 2-3 at a site to be announced Monday.


For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach