By: Christian van Helden, Athletic Communications Intern The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team fell 68-55 to UW-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic conference contest and the regular season finale for both teams at Kachel Gymnasium.
UW-Eau Claire (13-12, 8-6 WIAC) shot 90 percent (28-31 FT) from the free throw line, 23 percent higher than their season average (67.2 percent), to create 28 points off 28 Warhawk fouls.
UW-Whitewater (19-6, 8-6 WIAC) outrebounded the Blugolds 18-3 on the offensive glass to create 10 second-chance points.
After finishing in a tie for fourth place in the conference, the two teams will meet again Tuesday in a WIAC Tournament first round contest. Tipoff at Kachel Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.
The Warhawks were led in scoring by sophomore guard
Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and sophomore forward
Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran), who each tallied eight points on the afternoon. Sophomore guard
Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) and sophomore center
Kate McKay (Mendota Heights, Minn./Henry Sibley) contributed six points apiece. Senior forward
Lisa Palmer (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with her six points.
The Blugolds started the game strong building an 8-0 lead. A Palmer jumper got the Warhawks on the board and started an 8-0 run, highlighted a layup from junior guard
Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North), which tied the game at 8-8. Freshman forward
Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) gave the Warhawks their first lead, knocking down two free throws to make it 10-8. UW-Eau Claire responded to tie the game at 10-10 at the end of the quarter.
With UW-Eau Claire holding a 13-12 lead, a Palmer rebound and put-back gave UW-Whitewater a 14-13 lead. With the Warhawks in foul trouble, the Blugolds would take a 25-22 lead into halftime by converting 11-of-12 from the free throw line for the period.
Despite the Warhawks cutting the Blugold lead to 31-30 early in the third quarter on a McKay layup, UW-Eau Claire never relinquished the advantage the rest of the game, shooting 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the free-throw line in the half.
At halftime, Palmer and senior teammates
Maddie Bare (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson),
Emily Jensen (Wauwatosa/Wauwatosa East),
Jaya Perkins (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) and
Abbie Reeves (Salem/Westosha Central) were recognized during their final home regular season game. The five have combined to amass over 2,000 points and more than 1,000 rebounds during their careers. UW-Whitewater has won two WIAC regular season titles and made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament semifinals over the last four years.
The Warhawks begin their 17th straight WIAC Tournament Tuesday.
