The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday night with a 70-57 setback at UW-Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown.
The Warhawks (16-2 overall, 6-1 WIAC), who are tied for first place in the conference standings with UW-Oshkosh, were held to 31.7 percent shooting, their second-lowest percentage of the season.
Junior guard
Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) tallied a team-high 11 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward
Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) posted 10 points, a team-best eight rebounds and two steals, while freshman guard
Becky Raeder (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) recorded 10 points.
Junior guard
Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) collected eight points, seven rebounds and a team-high three assists.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 7-2 lead three minutes and 24 seconds into the game, but the Pointers (12-6, 4-3) fought back to tie the game less than one minute later as part of a 9-0 run. The Warhawks scored the last four points of the period on back-to-back buckets by Smith to tie the score at 11-11.
After senior guard
Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) gave UW-Whitewater a one-point lead on a free throw midway through the second, UW-Stevens Point embarked on a 9-0 run to take a 24-16 advantage by the 2:10 mark. Raeder scored five straight points to bring the Warhawks within one possession before the Pointers converted a layup in the final minute to take a 26-21 halftime lead.
UW-Stevens Point took control of the contest in the third, outscoring UW-Whitewater 26-18 and matching its largest lead of the game to that point, 52-39, heading into the fourth.
The Pointers continued to extend their lead in the final period, forging a 20-point lead with 4:50 remaining.
The Warhawks return home Saturday to take on UW-La Crosse and start the second half of the WIAC season. Tipoff at Kachel Gymnasium is slated for 3 p.m.
