Related Links:
Capital University Holiday Tournament Web Page
 
The No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team used strong defense and rebounding Thursday in a 71-54 victory over Case Western Reserve (Ohio) on the first day of the Marriott-Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
 
With the win, the Warhawks (9-1 overall) advance to Friday's tournament championship game, where they'll face the winner of Olivet (Mich.) and Capital at 4 p.m. Central Time.
 
UW-Whitewater scored the first six points of the game, led 23-10 after the first quarter and never trailed in the contest.
 
The Warhawks held the Spartans (7-3) to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor, including a 28.1 percent clip in the second half. They also outrebounded Case 48-33, including a 14-5 advantage on the offensive glass, which led to 14 second-chance points.
 
Senior guard Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) tallied a career-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting coming off the bench. Junior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) collected 16 points, a team-best nine rebounds and two steals, and junior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) contributed 10 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
 
Junior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) posted nine points and six rebounds, and sophomore forward Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) added seven points and six rebounds.
 
Case Western Reserve used a 9-0 run starting at the 3:36 mark of the second quarter to get to within one point of UW-Whitewater.
 
Smith hit a free throw and Stewart knocked down a 3-pointer with under a minute to play in the half to increase the lead to 35-30 by the half.
 
The Spartans stayed within one or two possessions for a majority of the third. Stewart and sophomore center Becky Deichl (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) scored on back-to-back possessions late in the period to give the Warhawks a 47-41 advantage entering the fourth.
 
UW-Whitewater continued what ended up as an 11-0 run early in the final stanza to retake a double-digit lead.
 
Case Western Reserve drew to within six midway through the fourth, but the Warhawks registered the final 11 points of the game en route to the win.