The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team posted a pair of wins Sunday and Monday at the San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Warhawks (9-0 overall), off to their best start since the 2007-08 season, defeated 15th-ranked New England (Maine) 55-47 Sunday before besting Hartwick (N.Y.) 52-40 Monday.
In the game against Hartwick (2-6), UW-Whitewater outrebounded the Hawks 43-18, including a 19-3 advantage on the offensive boards, to remain undefeated for the season.
Senior guard
Abbie Reeves (Salem/Westosha Central) totaled a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard
Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) contributed eight points and 10 rebounds, while freshman forward
Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) grabbed 10 rebounds.
Sophomore forward
Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) tallied nine points, five rebounds and one block. Sophomore guard
Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) registered a game-high six steals.
On Sunday, the Warhawks held New England (5-2) to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. UW-Whitewater's bench outscored the Nor'easters' reserves 23-5.
The Warhawks hit 18-of-27 from the free-throw line, including 6-of-6 in the final minute to help seal the victory.
Smith scored all of her team-high 12 points in the second half. Reeves, Trewyn and Meinert each finished with nine points. Trewyn added a team-best nine rebounds.
Smith broke a 37-37 tie late in the third quarter with a pair of free throws, which gave UW-Whitewater the lead for good. New England closed to within 47-46 with 3:22 left, but Smith hit a jumper one minute later and the Warhawks hit six free throws over the final 30 seconds of play.
UW-Whitewater returns to action Dec. 30-31 at the two-day JustAgame Fieldhouse Tournament in Wisconsin Dells. The team takes on Edgewood at 3 p.m. on the 30th before a contest against Luther (Iowa) on the 31st at 11 a.m.
