The No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team opened play in the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 70-35 win over Manhattanville. UWW remains unbeaten on the season at 10-0 with the victory. 

The Warhawks handed the Valiants their first loss of the 2023-24 campaign Monday in Puerto Rico. UWW forced 24 turnovers in the contest and held Manhattanville to under five points in the first and third quarters. 

Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) tallied the first point of the game on an early free throw. After a two-minute scoring lapse, Bri McCurdy (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) went coast-to-coast on a steal hitting the layin to make it 3-0. Manhattanville got on the board with a layup before the Warhawks rattled off six straight to take a 9-2 lead. The Valiants hit a jumper with just under three minutes to go in the first quarter for their last score of the period. Meanwhile, UWW added seven to hold a 16-4 advantage after the first 10 minutes. 

UW-Whitewater widened the gap in the second quarter to take a 33-15 into the intermission. 

On the other side of the break, the Warhawk defense registered it's best period of the season as the Valiants went 0-14 from the floor in the period. Manhattanville scored just three points, all from the charity stripe. With UWW's 18 points in the third, the Warhawks extended the lead to 51-18 heading into the fourth quarter. 

UW-Whitewater outscored MC by two, 19-17, in the fourth to bring the final score to 70-35. 

Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) led all scorers with 14 on 6-11 from the floor. She added five rebounds and four steals in the game. McCurdy ended with 13 bolstered by three three-pointers. Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) led all players on the glass with 11 rebounds. 

The Warhawks will take on Messiah in their final game of the Puerto Rico Clasico. That contest is slated for noon Central.