The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team used a pressure defense and sound free throw shooting to defeat UW-La Crosse 67-53 Saturday in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (17-2 overall, 7-1 WIAC), who maintained their first-place standing in the conference with six games to play, started the fourth quarter on a 14-0 run and outscored the Eagles 31-10 in the period behind a swarming full-court press and hot shooting.
 
Shooting 25 percent entering the fourth, UW-Whitewater turned up its defensive intensity and quickly forced a timeout by UW-La Crosse (10-9, 4-4) after tying the game at 43-43 on seven straight points from junior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley).
 
The Warhawks continued their run on a 3-pointer by senior guard Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North), a steal by Smith, a layup by sophomore forward Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) and a driving layup by freshman guard Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) to extend their run to 17-0 going back to the waning moments of the third quarter.
 
After the Eagles ended the run with a pair of free throws, they stayed within striking distance, narrowing their deficit to four with 3:03 remaining.
 
Junior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) started a 9-0 Warhawk run with an incredible rebound and putback over a defender, and UW-Whitewater sealed its win behind 9-of-10 free throw shooting over the final 1:24 of regulation.
 
The Warhawks, who hit 9-of-14 shots in the fourth quarter and limited UW-La Crosse to 3-of-19, hit 23-of-28 from the free-throw line for the game and had four players in double figures.
 
Smith tallied a team-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Freckmann finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and Trewyn registered her third double double of the year with 11 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Stewart added 10 points.
 
The first three quarters were forgettable for UW-Whitewater, which was unable to get anything going offensively.
 
After trailing by only three to end the first quarter, the Warhawks got as close as one in the second, but the Eagles held a 16-11 scoring advantage in the frame, including eight points in the paint, to take a 30-22 advantage into halftime.
 
UW-La Crosse extended its lead to double digits by the 4:04 mark of the third quarter and pushed it back to 10 again with 2:25 on the clock.
 
Smith started UW-Whitewater's incredible run with a free throw and a buzzer-beating, driving layup to end the period.
 
The Warhawks continue conference play Wednesday against UW-Platteville. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.