By Christian van Helden, Athletic Communications Intern
 
The No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Women's basketball team earned another victory 79-47 victory Saturday afternoon, as it took on UW-La Crosse in Wisconsin intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
UW-Whitewater created 43 of its 79 points off 29 UW-La Crosse turnovers and shot 44.4 percent from the field. The Warhawks controlled the lead the entire game. The team is now 13-2 overall and 3-2 in the WIAC.
 
The Warhawks were led by three players scoring in double figures. Senior guard/forward Jaya Perkins (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) had 15, junior guard Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) had 14 and junior guard Andrea Olsen (East Troy/East Troy) had 11.  Perkins also tallied five rebounds, three steals and a block. The Warhawks also received 29 points from their bench.
 
The Warhawks came out fast, using multiple fast breaks to build a 15-6 lead heading into the first media timeout at 4:14. They took a 19-12 lead over UW-La Crosse into the second quarter.
 
UW-La Crosse (6-9, 0-4 WIAC) countered with a run of its own to cut the Warhawk lead to 22-17 at the 5:30 mark of the second quarter. UW-Whitewater came back with a 12-7 scoring rally to take a 33-24 lead into halftime.
 
Following a steal by sophomore guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and a converted layup by senior guard/forward Maddie Bare (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson), the Warhawks had their biggest lead of the night at 26 points at the 3:26 mark in the third quarter.  
 
A jumper by freshman center Becky Deichl (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) pushed the Warhawks' lead to a game-high 33 points with 46 seconds remaining.
 
The Warhawks continue play next week as they host No. 20 UW-Oshkosh Wednesday  at 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.