The No. 13 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team grabbed the lead early in the second quarter Saturday afternoon and never relinquished it in a 53-51 triumph at Coe in a non-conference affair in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
 
The Warhawks (6-0 overall) held the Kohawks to 35.2 percent shooting from the floor and forced 18 turnovers, capitalizing with 20 points off the miscues.
 
Senior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) registered a team-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals, and senior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) posted 14 points and six rebounds to lead the frontcourt.
 
Senior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) collected eight points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and enters next week with 998 career points. Junior forward Sarah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) posted six points, four rebounds and one block off the bench.
 
UW-Whitewater trailed for a majority of the first quarter. After Coe (2-5) grabbed its largest lead of the period at 14-10, Smith hit a 3-pointer to bring the Warhawks within one entering the second quarter.
 
The Warhawks took an 18-16 advantage at the 8:46 mark of the second after another 3-pointer by Smith and never trailed again in the contest.
 
Meinert put UW-Whitewater ahead by seven with 2:58 to play in the quarter, but the Kohawks narrowed their deficit to 26-24 by halftime.
 
The Warhawks tallied six straight points to start the second half on a layup by Smith, a jumper by Trewyn and a layup by Meinert with 8:34 on the clock that put the team ahead 32-24.
 
UW-Whitewater led by eight again midway through the third after a jumper by Schumacher, and held a four-point lead by the end of the quarter.
 
Coe closed to within 39-37 one minute into the fourth quarter. Smith hit a jumper with 6:47 remaining, and after a turnover by the Kohawks, Meinert converted a layup for a six-point lead with 6:10 to go.
 
Coe narrowed its deficit to one point by the 3:27 mark, but sophomore guard Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) responded one minute later with a layup to bring the Warhawk lead to three.
 
After a jumper by the Kohawks, Meinert responded with a jumper at the other end to make it 49-46 with 1:42 left in the contest.
 
Coe closed to within one point again with 44 seconds left, but Meinert and Trewyn combined to go 4-of-4 from the line over the next 30 seconds to bring the UW-Whitewater lead to five with six seconds remaining.
 
The Kohawks hit a 3-pointer with four seconds to play, but the Warhawks ran out the clock to secure their 28th regular season, non-conference win in their last 29 games.
 
UW-Whitewater returns to action Tuesday as it hosts MSOE. Tipoff at Kachel Gymnasium is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Postgame Quotes
 
Head coach Keri Carollo
 
On the team's ability to secure a key road win:
"We didn't come out very sharp on the offensive end. We didn't get the start we wanted to but we were able to hang in there. We had a good little start to the second half and maintained a 5-to-8 point lead the rest of the way. It's tough to play on the road, but we have to do a better job of being prepared mentally and physically the rest of the way."
 
On the team's ability to take advantage of turnovers:
"We were able to take advantage of that, especially at the start of the second half. Defensively, we did an OK job on their two best players. Our attention to detail wasn't as sharp as I'd like to see, but it was a solid effort in figuring out how to win. We weren't at our best, but we put some pieces together. Andrea (Meinert) hit a big shot near the end of the game and we hit some free throws. It was great to see seniors step up in big moments like that."
 
On the performances of leading scorers Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran):
"They hit shots. It was important for them to step up. Brooke was having a hard time finishing, so it was good to see other players step up and hit good shots. Malia had a really nice drive to the basket late in the game where we thought she was fouled. The officiating wasn't as strict tonight, and they allowed a lot of contact. We haven't seen that all year. I was proud of our girls for figuring out how to adjust and how to play through it."
 
Senior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley)
 
On the team's offensive performance:
"Offensively, we were struggling a little bit. After a couple timeouts, we started to run our stuff and our sets, and we got some good open looks. We fed the post, and they were able to create baskets for us."
 
On the team's defensive performance:
"Defensively, we wish we would have been sharper. They did a good job attacking the rim. Coach came into the locker room at halftime and said we need to be more aggressive defensively. We had a more aggressive mentality in the second half and put more pressure on them and hoped it would cause some turnovers, and it did."
 
On Smith's ability to find an offensive rhythm:
"For our team, we just have so many scorers. (Our leading scorer) is different every game. Tonight it happened to be me. I got great passes from my teammates to open me up."
 
Senior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran)
 
On the adjustments the team made at halftime:
"We just talked a lot about doing our stuff. We let Coe dictate the tempo and how we would play, so at halftime we talked about being the aggressor and disrupting the game. It was playing into their hands. In the second half, we worked in transition and both inside and outside. We have so many weapons that they have to account for. That made the difference."
 
On the importance of getting an in-region, road win:
"We talked about that before the game. It's early in the season, but every game is important. We can't afford to be losing early even though it's a long season. We had a little break here (before the Coe game) so it was nice to come out and get a win here. We'll work hard to get better and keep the ball rolling."