The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team remained unbeaten for the 2021-22 season with a strong all-around performance Wednesday night in a 79-53 triumph at UW-Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
 
The Warhawks (7-0 overall, 1-0 WIAC) shot 46.8 percent from the floor, including 50 percent or better in three of the four quarters, and forced 25 UW-Stevens Point turnovers that led to 33 points on the other end.
 
UW-Whitewater shot 8-of-15 from 3-point range and outscored the Pointers (5-2, 0-1) in the paint (38-28) and on the fast break (21-9).
 
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with 20 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a team-high three steals. Veronica Kieres (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) posted 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added four points, two steals and one block.
 
Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) and Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) each recorded eight points. Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) and Yssa Sto. Domingo (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward) chipped in with seven points apiece.
 
The Warhawks held UW-Stevens Point scoreless over a four-minute stretch late in the first quarter to turn a one-point lead into a 20-10 advantage. Sto. Domingo's 3-pointer in the final seconds of the period gave UW-W a 23-12 lead.
 
UW-Whitewater's lead ballooned to 16 just over two minutes into the second on a 3-pointer by Trautsch, and Rebecca Schauer's (Fredonia, Wis./Ozaukee) free throw made it 31-14 with 7:02 on the clock.
 
Trautsch gave the Warhawks a 38-19 lead just inside the four-minute mark, and the team maintained the 19-point lead into halftime.
 
The Pointers scored the first nine points of the second half to draw within 42-32 with 7:15 left in the third quarter, but back-to-back 3-point plays by Grundahl and Kieres, followed by 3-pointers from Carollo and Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), gave UW-W its largest lead of the game at 54-34 with 3:58 remaining in the period.
 
UW-Whitewater expanded its lead to 21 through three quarters, and never led by fewer than 21 points in the fourth quarter.
 
A total of 18 players saw action for the Warhawks in the contest.
 
UW-W continues conference play Saturday as it visits UW-Stout. Tipoff in Menomonie is scheduled for 3 p.m.