This week marks the halfway point in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season with the first half concluding Wednesday and the second half getting underway Saturday for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team.

The Warhawks (8-8 overall, 3-4 WIAC) will travel to Stevens Point to take on the Pointers (8-8, 3-4) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Berg Gym. UW-Whitewater will prepare for a rematch against the league's top squad as the second half of conference play begins Saturday against UW-Superior (11-5, 6-2) in Whitewater. Saturday's contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tipoff in Kachel Gym. 

UW-Whitewater averages 69.4 points per game, third best in the league standings. The Warhawks boast the second best free throw percentage (.709), fourth highest field goal percentage (.422) and four best three-point shooting percentage (.332) in the league. UW-Whitewater has one of the best deep threats in the league so far this season with 80 three-pointers, an average of 5.71 per contest, second to only UW-EC in the conference. 

The Warhawks' most consistent asset this season has come off the glass. UW-Whitewater averages 40.0 rebounds per game and holds their opponents to just 32.4, a margin of +7.6, second best in the WIAC. Wednesday's game will be a battle of the top two rebounding teams in the WIAC with the Pointers boasting a rebound margin of +10.0.

Last Week
UW-Whitewater went 1-1 last week in two conference match-ups. The Warhawks' second half surge wasn't enough to top UW-Eau Claire. After trailing 37-27 at the half, the Warhawks cut the deficit down to one point with eight minutes left in the game before the Blugolds scored 10 of the next 12 points to extend the lead to 56-47 with less than three to play. 

The Warhawks responded with nine of the next 11 points to make the score 58-56 with just 50 seconds remaining but the Blugolds sealed the game with free throws in the final 25 seconds of the contest to win 64-58. 

UW-Whitewater evened their record on the season with a 70-57 win over UW-La Crosse Saturday in a high-paced, high-action contest in Kachel Gym. The Warhawks shot 40.7 percent from the field and held the Eagles to just 34.5 percent. UW-Whitewater used a 12-0 run over the final four minutes of the game to seal the win.

Sophomore forward Lisa Palmer (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) led the Warhawks in both games with 12 points on 6-8 shooting from the field against Eau Claire and 15 points on 7-12 from the floor against the Eagles. She added 12 rebounds, six steals and three blocks over the two-game span. 

This Week

UW-Whitewater at UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.

The Pointers have lost four of their last five outings including the last two. UW-SP is 4-3 on their home court in Berg Gym this season. 

Kaitlyn Jacobs leads the Pointers with 9.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game, all team highs. The senior post players adds 13 blocks this season, second best on the team. Averaging nearly 30 minutes of floor time per contest, Jacobs makes 48.1 percent of her shots from the floor.

Allie Miceli adds 9.5 points on a shooting percentage of 47.3 and 7.2 boards per game off the bench for the Pointers. 

In the league statistics UW-Stevens Point is seventh in scoring offense (59.4), second in scoring defense (55.1), fifth in free throw percentage (.679), sixth in field goal percentage (.395), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.281) and leads the WIAC with a rebounding margin of +10.0.

The Warhawks will look to put the pressure on the Pointer offense and take advantage of turnovers in the game. UW-Stevens Point holds the worst turnover margin in the league, -5.29, averaging nearly 20 turnovers per outing. 

Fans can follow the game via live stats, live video or audio. 

UW-Whitewater vs. UW-Superior, Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3 p.m.

The Yellowjackets' league-leading 6-2 record will remain intact heading into the Saturday's contest. UW-Superior's only other scheduled game this week is set for Tuesday against Northland College.

After losing their first four games of the season, UW-Superior rattled off eight wins in a row and have won three of their last five games. The majority of Superior's losses this season have come on the road (7-4 away game record).

UW-Superior defeated UW-Whitewater 71-59 in their first meeting this season back on Jan. 7 in Superior. 

Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the Warhawks with 15 points, three assists and two steals. Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) added 15 points bolstered by a 6-8 performance from the charity stripe. Abbie Reeves (Salem/Westosha Central) knocked down two three-pointers and added 12 points in the game. Palmer led UW-Whitewater on the glass with six points. 

Sally Linzmeier led UW-S with 28 points on 10-15 from the field and a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line and added a team-high seven rebounds. Vanessa Lebens added 14 points on 5-7 from the field. 

The Warhawks shot 42.0 percent from the field (21-50) and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line (13-17) in the loss. Superior was 50.0 percent shooting from the field (25-50) and made 89.5 percent of their free-throws (17-19) in the game. 

Linzmeier, a senior guard, leads the Yellowjackets with 16.1 points per game, second best in the WIAC. She adds 7.9 rebounds per game, fourth best in the league, and 4.1 assists per outing, also fourth best in the conference. Linzmeier leads the WIAC with 48 steals an average of 3.0 per game and has the top free throw percentage in the conference making 91.1 percent of her opportunities from the charity stripe. 

Sophomore guard Brynn Liljander adds 11.0 points per game. Junior forward Alyssa Lindberg leads the Yellowjackets from long range with 21 three-pointers this season. 

Despite sitting on top of the league standings, UW-Superior leads the WIAC in only two categories, free-throw percentage (.746) and steals (144, 10.29/game). The Yellowjackets are fourth in scoring offense (66.3), fourth in scoring defense (59.2), third in field goal percentage (.424) and fifth in rebounding margin (+3.6). 

To follow the game in Whitewater, fans can watch the action live, listen live or follow live stats.