MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team, ranked fourteenth in the most recent d3hoops.com poll, fell to George Fox University 74-57 in the first game of the Paul F. Kneuppel Classic hosted by Wisconsin Lutheran College at the Recreation Complex in Milwaukee.

The game was close for the first eight minutes with neither team leading by more than two points. With 12:01 on the clock, Lisa Palmer (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) hit a free throw to break the fifth tie of the game and give the Warhawks a 12-11 lead. From that point, George Fox went on a 17-6 run to open a 10 point advantage, 28-18 with 5:21 left in the half. 

The gap hovered around 10 points the rest of the half as the teams went into intermission with the Bruins leading 39-29.

George Fox outscored the Warhawks in points off turnovers 11-1 but UW-Whitewater won the battle on the glass with 10 second chance points compared to five for the Bruins. UW-Whitewater shot 30% in the half compared to 41% for George Fox. Palmer led the Warhawks with eight points on 3-5 from the field with five rebounds in the first half. Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) led all players with seven boards in the first 20 minutes.

The Bruins opened a 25 point gap with a 21-4 run in the second half to bring the score to 60-35 with 13:35 remaining. UW-Whitewater responded with a 14-5 run of their own to pull within 16, 65-49 with 6:09 left on the clock. 

Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) capped her own eight point run for the Warhawks over a span of 2:12 to bring the score to 69-53 with 4:50 left but that's as close as the Bruins would allow. 

The Warhawks shot 34% (20-59) in the game compared to the Bruins' 44% (28-63). UW-Whitewater dominated on the boards, 52-34, posting 18 second chance points. GFU outscored the Warhawks 27-5 on points off turnovers in the contest.

Kate McKay (Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley) and Abbie Reeves (Salem/Westosha Central) led the Warhawks with 12 points each. Meinert added ten on 4-7 from the field. Palmer led all players with 11 rebounds and registered three blocks. Trewyn added 10 boards for UW-Whitewater. 

UW-Whitewater wraps up play in the Paul F. Kneuppel Classic against ninth ranked DePauw Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.