The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team asserted itself near the basket both offensively and defensively Saturday afternoon on its way to a 73-64 victory against No. 10 UW-Eau Claire in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (13-1 overall, 4-0 WIAC) outscored the Blugolds 40-8 in the paint and posted 25 assists on their 29 made baskets.
 
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) scored a game-high 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added five rebounds and three steals to lead UW-Whitewater, which limited UW-Eau Claire (11-3, 2-1) to 37.5 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers, including 10 in the first half.
 
Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) converted 4-of-5 from 3-point range on her way to 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) tallied 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks, and Abby Belschner (Grafton, Wis./Cedarburg) registered eight points and three assists.
 
The Warhawks scored the first five points of the contest, but the Blugolds rallied and took a 15-10 advantage with 3:32 left in the first quarter. UW-W finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, including a pull-up jumper by Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) in the final seconds for a 21-18 advantage.
 
UW-Eau Claire closed to within one point just over two minutes into the second quarter before UW-Whitewater embarked on a 9-0 run to take a 32-22 lead at the 3:48 mark on a driving layup by Grundahl.
 
UW-W led by as many as 11 in the period and held a 38-30 halftime edge.
 
The Warhawks built their lead to 12 points with 7:32 left in the third quarter thanks to six points from the frontcourt, including four from Grundahl and two from Taylor. UW-W's advantage grew to 13 points with 2:19 on the clock, and the team held a 10-point lead heading to the fourth.
 
The Blugolds closed to within six at the 5:52 mark of the fourth before Schumacher's 3-pointer at the midway point of the quarter made it 62-53. After UWEC got within five with 3:24 to play, the Warhawks scored eight of the next nine points, including a 3-point play by Taylor and a jumper by Trautsch to close the run with 1:15 to go.
 
UW-Whitewater visits UW-Platteville this Wednesday at 7 p.m.