By: Christian van Helden, Athletic Communications Intern
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team won handily over UW-Platteville Wednesday night 85-58 in Wisconsin intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (18-4, 7,4 WIAC) created 38 points off 27 UW-Platteville (5-17, 2-9 WIAC) turnovers and also got 52 points from the bench in the contest.
 
With the victory, UW-Whitewater clinched its 17th consecutive bid to the WIAC Tournament, which begins the week of Feb. 22. The Warhawks are currently alone in fourth place in the league standings.
 
UW-Whitewater had three players score in double digits. Senior guard Jaya Perkins (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) and junior guard Andrea Olsen (East Troy/East Troy) both had 15. Perkins added two assists and two rebounds, while Olsen contributed three steals. Sophomore guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) tallied 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
 
Perkins came out firing for the Warhawks, scoring the team's first 13 points (5-of-6 FG). UW-Whitewater remained ahead of the Pioneers 24-11 at the end of the first quarter.
 
UW-Whitewater spread the ball around in the second quarter with Olson leading the way in scoring. She scored 11 of her 15 points in the period to give the Warhawks the 45-29 halftime lead.
 
The Warhawks shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27 FG) in the second of half. UW-Whitewater's lead grew to as many as 30 points at the 9:49 mark in the fourth quarter.
 
UW-Whitewater continues conference play as it travels to UW-Stout this Saturday. Tipoff in Menomonie is slated for 3 p.m.
 
As part of the Play4Kay initiative, the Warhawks collected funds for donation to the American Cancer Society. Both teams donned pink t-shirts during warm-ups, and the coaching staffs wore pink to raise awareness for breast cancer.