The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team overcame its lowest offensive output of the regular season to date Saturday afternoon, topping UW-Stout 58-53 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest in Menomonie, Wis.
The Warhawks (8-0 overall, 2-0 WIAC) converted 8-of-8 from the free-throw line over the final 1:03 of the game to close out their second straight conference road win. UW-W held the Blue Devils to 37.3 percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers.
Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) tallied a team-high 11 points and added four rebounds and two assists.
Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and a team-best 12 rebounds to go with two assists, and
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Veronica Kieres (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) collected nine points, two assists and a team-high three steals for UW-Whitewater, which was held to 30.8 percent shooting from the floor.
The Warhawks took an 11-6 lead six minutes into the contest following a pair of free throws by Kieres. UW-Stout (3-4, 1-1) drew to within one, but
Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) upped the UW-W advantage to three after grabbing her own miss and converting the put-back with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.
The two teams traded the lead early in the second before the Blue Devils took the lead midway through the period. A 9-1 UW-Whitewater run that included a 3-pointer by
Yssa Sto. Domingo (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward) made it 26-21 with just under a minute remaining in the half. UW-Stout hit a pair of free throws in the final 38 seconds of the quarter to draw within 26-23.
The Warhawks built their lead to six early in the third following a Grundahl layup at the 6:53 mark and took their largest advantage of the contest at 35-28 following Carollo's layup with 3:47 on the clock. The Blue Devils chipped away at the deficit and closed the quarter on a 9-4 run to trail by two heading to the fourth.
UW-Whitewater held the lead over the first seven minutes of the final quarter, but UW-Stout took a 48-47 lead with 3:01 to play. Tratusch gave the Warhawks the lead back with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but the Blue Devils grabbed an offensive rebound and tied the game at 50-50 with 2:08 left.
UW-W closed the game on an 8-3 run, with all eight points coming at the fee-throw line. Tratusch's free throws with 1:03 remaining gave the team the lead for good.
UW-Whitewater travels to Daytona Beach, Fla., for games against Alfred (N.Y.) and Centre (Ky.) on Dec. 19-20 starting at 3 p.m. Central Time and 1 p.m. Central Time, respectively.
