The No. 4 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team broke open a close game early in the second quarter Thursday afternoon on its way to a 79-51 victory against Edgewood in a non-conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (11-0 overall) forced 36 turnovers, one short of their season high, and tallied 20 steals, their third straight game of 20 or more.
 
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) paced UW-Whitewater with 19 points, six rebounds and six steals. Maggie Trausch also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with five rebounds.
 
Hailey Voelker (Colby, Wis./Colby) registered nine points and two assists, while Courtney Oomens (Lake Geneva, Wis./Badger) totaled eight points. Abby Belschner (Grafton, Wis./Cedarburg) grabbed a team-best seven rebounds to go along with her seven points, and Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) collected six points, six rebounds and two blocks.
 
UW-W took the lead on the second possession of the contest and didn't relinquish it. The team took its first double-digit advantage at 12-2 with 5:50 on the clock.
 
The Eagles (1-10) cut their deficit to six in the waning seconds of the first quarter, but Trautsch knocked down a jumper as the horn sounded to make it 23-15.
 
The Warhawks outscored Edgewood 26-11 in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding the Eagles to 36.4 percent in the frame. UW-W scored 17 straight points over a four-minute span to take a 45-21 advantage following a 3-pointer by Schumacher to cap the run with 2:33 left and led 49-26 at halftime.
 
UW-Whitewater built its lead up to 63-34 by the end of the third quarter, and led by as many as 35 points in the fourth.
 
The Warhawks visit Carroll this Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. in Waukesha.