The #19 UW-Whitewater women's basketball team used a huge advantage from the free throw line to top UW-La Crosse 62-56 on the road Saturday. 

The Warhawks made 13-18 from the charity stripe while the Eagles were just 4-5 in the contest. 

Despite a close game throughout, it felt like the Warhawks were always in the driver's seat. UWW was efficient from long range in the first half hitting 4-8 that helped the Warhawks maintain the lead for the majority of the first 20 minutes. 

The seven-point UW-Whitewater advantage from intermission hit double digits multiple times in the third quarter including the largest lead of the contest, 11-points (43-32), following a Kacie Carollo (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) triple with 4:10 on the clock. The Eagles responded with a seven-point run before Carollo ended the scoring in the period with a free throw to send the Warhawks into the fourth with a 44-39 lead. 

Less than two minutes into the final period, UWL cut the margin to three, but UWW quickly responded with 6-0 spurt to push the gap back to nine. Katie Hildebrandt (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) registered the bookends while Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) knocked down a jumped in the middle of the run. The Eagles flipped the script with their own 6-0 run to cut the lead back to three, 55-52, with under to go. 

Carollo took over for the final three minutes of play -- she hit a jumper, hauled in a defensive board that led to a layup on the offensive end and sealed the game from the charity stripe with three free throws in the final 42 seconds. 

Carollo registered her fourth consecutive double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds. She hit 11-20 from the field including 5-8 from three-point range. Hildebrandt knocked down 4-6 from the floor for 10 points adding six rebounds. Trautsch added nine points and six boards in the game. Mia Gillis (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) had a solid game on the glass with seven rebounds and added a team-high three assists. 

Halfway through the league slate, the Warhawks are tied for fourth with a 4-3 mark in conference play. UW-Whitewater will begin their second round through the WIAC at home on Wednesday against UW-Stevens Point.