The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team was outscored by 15 points in the first quarter Saturday afternoon and was unable to recover in a 69-48 setback against fourth-ranked Thomas More (Ky.) in a non-conference affair at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (4-2 overall) were held to 27.1 percent shooting from the floor. The team finished with 15 offensive rebounds for 13 second-chance points and shot 15-of-17 at the free-throw line.
 
Senior center Becky Deichl (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) led UW-Whitewater with nine points and added seven rebounds and one block. Senior forward Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) tallied eight points and eight rebounds, and sophomore guard Adriana Green (Racine, Wis./Horlick) collected seven points and three rebounds.
 
The Saints (7-0) jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first two minutes. Junior guard Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) ended the run with a pair of free throws with 8:00 left in the first quarter.
 
Thomas More continued to extend its lead holding an 18-point advantage early in the second quarter before two more free throws by Conley halted an 8-0 run.
 
Deichl brought UW-Whitewater to within 13 midway through the second, and senior forward Sarah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) kept the deficit at 13 with a jumper late in the half to make it 37-24 at halftime.
 
The Warhawks got as close as 11 in the third quarter, but the Saints built their lead back to 17 by the 2:50 mark of the period and led 55-38 going into the fourth.
 
A 9-0 run by Thomas More starting at the 6:18 mark of the fourth quarter gave it a 66-42 advantage with 4:12 remaining. UW-Whitewater scored six of the final nine points, including four from Freckmann, to account for the final margin.
 
The Warhawks resume non-conference action next Saturday, Dec. 8, against Coe (Iowa). Tipoff at Kachel Gymnasium is slated for 2 p.m.