The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team registered a phenomenal first quarter to open up a hefty advantage that carried the Warhawks to a 67-55 win at UW-Oshkosh Wednesday evening. 

UWW came out firing on cylinders hitting 10-16 (63%) from the floor while knocking down 4-5 from three-point range in the first quarter. With the defense holding the Titans to under 30-percent shooting from the field, UW-Whitewater opened up a 26-12 advantage after just 10 minutes of action. 

That lead carried the Warhawks the rest of the way as UWO won the second and third quarters narrowing the gap to as little as five points late in the third quarter. Still, UWW held their composure and ended the quarter with a pair of jumpers to push the margin back to nine, 49-40, with one period left. 

Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) knocked down a jumper in the first 17 seconds of the fourth to reclaim a double figure lead for UWW. A triple for the Titans with under two minutes to play cut the gap to seven, but Carollo sealed the game at the free throw line hitting 5-6 in the final 1:18 of the contest. 

Abby Belschner (Grafton, Wis./Cedarburg) led all players with 20 points on 10-15 from the floor. She added nine boards, three assists and a block. Carollo ended up with 16 bolstered by a 6-8 performance from the charity stripe. She hauled in 13 rebounds to tally the double-double. Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) added 16 points and six rebounds. 

The race for the conference title will come down to the wire. With just two league games remaining, Saturday's matchup against UW-Stout in Kachel Gym will be a pivotal contest. Both teams sit atop the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings at 9-3 in league play after the Blue Devils topped UWL in double overtime Wednesday.