The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team will head to Oshkosh for first round action in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Kolf Sports Center. The winner of the WIAC Championship will receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament to begin next week. 

The Warhawks (13-12, 8-8) will face the Titans (19-6, 11-5) for the second time in just seven days. UW-Whitewater has won their last four outings while UW-Oshkosh enters the contest on a three-game skid. The Warhawks won their last two games by a total of five points and the Titans have lost their last two by the same margin. 

UW-Whitewater's streak began at home Feb. 11 with a 64-52 win over UW-Stevens Point. The Warhawks then notched two road wins including a 74-67 win in River Falls followed by a 68-66 win in Oshkosh. UW-Whitewater wrapped up the regular season in Kachel Gym with a 69-66 win over UW-Stout. 

The Titans dropped a Feb. 14 match-up with the Yellowjackets in Superior 58-46 before being bested by the Warhawks. UW-Oshkosh closed the regular season with a 64-61 loss to UW-Eau Claire on the road. 

In their last outing (Feb. 18), UW-Whitewater erased an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat UW-O 68-66 in Oshkosh. The Warhawks shot a blistering 61.5 percent in the second half bolstered by Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater)'s 15 points on 6-for-10 from the field. Trewyn and fellow freshman Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) combined for 24 points and nine rebounds in the final half of the game. The Warhawk victory marks just the second time this season the Titans have fallen on their home court.

The teams first met in the conference opener back on Dec. 3 in Whitewater. The Titans came away with the 72-58 win led by Taylor Schmidt's 17 points, three assists and two steals. Trewyn was the Warhawk leader in scoring and on the glass with 17 points and seven boards adding two assists and two steals. 

The Warhawks' average 65.9 points per game compared to UW-Oshkosh's 66.6. The Titans lead the league defensively allowing just 53.7 points per outing. UW-O shoots 42.9 percent from the field but is just 67.1 percent from the free-throw line as a team. UW-Whitewater knocks down 73.3 percent of their opportunities from the charity stripe and 40.1 percent of their tries from the floor. A big key to the game for the Warhawks will be to limit the number of turnovers. The Titans hold the WIAC's best turnover margin at +4.68. 

UW-Whitewater, 13-12 overall and 8-8 in the WIAC, is led by junior shooting guard Abbie Reeves (Salem/Westosha Central) averaging 10.5 points per contest. She leads the league in three-pointers with 2.28 per game and a long range efficiency of 41.3 percent. Trewyn adds 10.0 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per outing. Meinert has posted double-doubles in two of her last three games averaging 7.7 points and 4.8 boards per game this season. The Warhawks' have a deeper bench that contributes to offensive production. The starting five averages 36.7 points per contest while an additional 29.2 points come from the bench. 

For UW-Oshkosh, Schmidt is the lone Titan averaging double figures in scoring with 10.6 points per game. Alex Richard grabs a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per contest. The majority of the Titans' offensive production lies with the starting five that combine for 43.2 points per game. 

UW-Superior earned their first WIAC title in program history and the top seed entering the WIAC Championship. UW-EC passed UW-Oshkosh with the win in the final game of the regular season to grab the second seed. The Yellowjackets and Blugolds receive a first round by in the championship. Oshkosh enters as the #3 seed to host the Warhawks, the sixth-seed. UW-Platteville (# 4) hosts UW-Stevens Point (#5) in the other first round game Wednesday. 

Friday's semifinals are both scheduled for 7 p.m. with UW-Superior hosting the lowest remaining seed and the Blugolds hosting the highest seed after the first round. The championship will be hosted by the highest remaining seed after the semifinals Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Warhawks have advanced to the WIAC Championship game four of the last five seasons but have yet to win the tournament title and receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.