Warhawk Athletics Insider Michael Gouvion brings you an inside look into the world of UW-Whitewater's sports teams. Gouvion is a former sports editor at the Milton Courier and a UW-Whitewater alumnus.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team has improved significantly the past four years, and senior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) has been a big part of the team's journey back onto the national scene.

One year losing four starters from their 2013-14 team, which finished third in the nation during the program's third trip to the Final Four in seven years, the Warhawks finished 13-13 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season. As a freshman starter on that team, Trewyn averaged 10.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.2 minutes per game.

UW-Whitewater improved its final record by eight games in 2015-16, posting a 20-8 mark while reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Last season, the Warhawks finished with an overall record of 22-6 – a two-game improvement over the previous year – and Trewyn held averages of 15.2 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 assists in 31 minutes per game. The team won its first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship made its ninth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last decade.

On Tuesday, Trewyn became the program's 16th player to reach 1,000 career points after tallying 11 in a 64-32 victory over MSOE. She jumped to 15th on the school's all time scoring list.

UW-Whitewater enters a two-game trip to Florida next week with a perfect 7-0 record and a top 20 ranking in two national polls. Trewyn, a D3hoops.com Preseason All-American, averages 13.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per contest.

"It's always great to have a successful year individually, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter who goes off or who scores all the points as long as it's a 'W' in the book," Trewyn said. "It's nice to be having a good year so far and I hope it keeps rolling that way."

Although her offensive numbers have improved over her career, Trewyn said that the one part of her game that has really improved has been her defense.

"In high school, all we really did was play a zone defense, so I was never really skilled with that," Trewyn said. "The coaches have done a good job to transform me into a defender."

Carollo, who described Trewyn as a competitor and fierce, said she believes the biggest difference in Trewyn is that she has matured and understands the "bigger picture."

"I think when you're younger, it's kind of hard to see what that bigger picture is," Carollo said. "She's been able to really develop as a leader … It has really been fun for me to see that development through the four years and how much she's grown up.

"I think she can probably say there is a big difference from her freshman year to her senior just in her approach to handling adversity or tough game situations or tough team situations. I think she really now has that experience, knowledge and maturity level to be able to handle all of those different areas."

It's not ironic that the increase in the program's success correlates to the improvement of Trewyn and her classmates, guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran).

"It's them sticking together and really buying into the philosophy of what we're trying to accomplish as a program," head coach Keri Carollo said about her seniors helping the team improve. "... It's been fun for us as coaches to see that and to see them now have the level of success that I know they wanted to have as freshmen, they just didn't know how to do it. But now they know how, they know they have to lean on each other, they know they have to play together, they know the value of team chemistry and how that really, at the end of the day, is the most important thing to our team's success."

RECORDS AND LEGACY

With Trewyn creeping up the ladder of many program records, she said breaking some of those is in the back of her mind, but her goal is to win and be successful as a team.

"There are some amazing players," Trewyn said. "It's awesome to be compared to some of them."

She said her biggest goal is to have confetti falling after her last game in a Warhawk uniform.

"You just have to play every game like it's your last," Trewyn said. "At this point, it's kind of whittling down to that, which is sad, but … winning a national championship would be pretty sweet to end it off like that."

Carollo, who's in her 16th season as the head coach of the Warhawks, said that Trewyn ranks in the upper echelon of all the players she's had.

"She does so many things for us," Carollo said. "She's one of the better players that we've seen go through our program and it's fun to see her reach that level of play and be in that conversation with some of the other players that we've had."

Carollo added that she believes Trewyn has become a great scorer because of her knowledge of the game and when to take advantage of her opportunities.

"I remember her shooting at halftime of the girls high school varsity games, just running around out there as a little tike," Carollo said. "She really has a true love for the game; she watches the game when she's not playing the game. I think all of that knowledge that she has gained over the years has really helped her understand when to take advantage of those opportunities.

"As far as the scoring record goes, we would have to make a deep run to make that happen. I'd be really happy for her if that was something she could accomplish, but I know that's not a priority for her. She has wanted to win a national championship – that is her goal. She's not afraid to say it and we're not afraid to say it."

As one of the best players on the court at all times, Trewyn's role has been shifted to one of leadership for the Warhawks. She said was timid her first year, but has become more vocal in recent seasons.

"I think once you become a senior, you kind of have to step into that role and lead your team because you know what's best for them and know what the coaches' expectations are," Trewyn said.

CHOOSING UW-WHITEWATER

Trewyn, the all-time leading scorer at Whitewater High School, said choosing to stay at home and go to UW-Whitewater was not an easy decision.

"You kind of want to have that scholarship offer, but those fell through," Trewyn said. "I was really excited. I always grew up watching Coach Carollo and I've always been a Warhawk fan. It's kind of cool to be living it out as a real Warhawk."

Carollo said she wanted Trewyn to be a Warhawk for a long time.

"From the time she was really little and watching her develop into the player that she was in high school … her ability to score, her understanding of the game obviously gravitated us to really want her in our program," Carollo said. "Along with that, not only her ability to play basketball, but her family is wonderful. Scott and Shirley Trewyn are great people. They are very supportive of her and her development, so that is also a big reason why we wanted her family to be a part of our family here at UW-Whitewater. She has the total package."

Trewyn had all the qualities that coaches look for in a student-athlete, Carollo continued.

"She's local, so that was important to us," Carollo said. "We have to continue to recruit local talent for obvious reasons. It's great for us to have someone like her excel in our program. It says a lot about Whitewater High School and Judy Harms and what she's been able to do. For us to continue that tradition to have a lot of Whippets go through our program will be a great thing for us."

Harms, the head coach of the Whitewater High School girls basketball program, said it's always a good thing when a hometown Whippet decides to play for the home university.

"Being able to watch Brooke play in person is not only great for me as a coach, but I think it's pretty special for the youth and community of Whitewater," Harms said.

Harms added that what set Trewyn apart from others was "her remarkable ability to hit teammates on a dime in transition play."

"At the time, I didn't realize how great of a rebounder Brooke would become, but she certainly has a special knack for knowing where the ball will go," Harms said. "Add that to her ability to shoot … yeah, she's quite the player, and I'm really happy that the Warhawks were able to tap into her abilities at the next level."