The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team used its physicality and size to its advantage Saturday night in a 72-54 victory against Illinois Wesleyan in a second-round game of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
With the win, the Warhawks (25-4) advance to the Round of 16, where they'll face No. 16 Smith (Mass.) on Friday, March 11, at a site to be determined. Sectional locations are expected to be announced Sunday.
 
UW-Whitewater grabbed 17 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points, held a 36-22 advantage on points in the paint and limited the Titans (20-9) to 36.2 percent shooting on the defensive end.
 
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with 18 points to go with eight rebounds. Yssa Sto. Domingo (Streamwood, Ill./St. Edward) was also in double figures with 10 points to go with three assists and five steals, while Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) posted nine points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
 
Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) tallied nine points, seven assists and four rebounds and Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) finished with eight points.
 
The Warhawks raced out to an 11-4 lead just over three minutes into the contest thanks to a 3-pointer by Carollo, and the lead grew to double digits by the 3:45 mark of the first quarter on a pull-up jumper by Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest).
 
UW-W led by as many as 12 in the period before the Titans pulled to within 21-15 by the end of the quarter.
 
UW-Whitewater led throughout the second quarter, but the margin narrowed to five by halftime on a last-second IWU jumper.
 
The Warhawks' lead increased back to double digits with 6:45 left in the third quarter following a jumper by Veronica Kieres (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection). After a pair of Illinois Wesleyan free throws, UW-W scored seven straight points to bring the advantage to 51-36 at the 3:20 mark.
 
UW-Whitewater's lead never fell below 11 in the final quarter.
 
The Warhawks will make their fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 under head coach Keri Carollo and first since 2014. UW-Whitewater and Smith have never met.