ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The UW-Whitewater women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 campaign with a 97-65 win over Benedictine in the first game of the McWilliams Classic hosted by Washington University in St. Louis.
The Warhawks turned defense into offense with a 37-11 sway in points off of turnovers including a 25-0 advantage in the stat by halftime. UWW was efficient offensively hitting 53% from the floor and 50% from three-point range in the game while the defense forced 29 Eagle turnovers.
UW-Whitewater set the tone from the start as
Camryn Nies (Platteville, Wis./Platteville) swiped a steal in the paint on the Eagles' opening possession. The Warhawks capitalized as
Mia Gillis (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel Catholic) hit a jump shot in the lane for the first points of the contest. Benedictine tied the game with the next bucket, but UWW responded with a 7-0 run and never looked back. By the end of the first, the Warhawk lead swelled into double digits.
A small run early in the second cut the margin to six, 24-18, forcing a UWW timeout. Out of the break, the Warhawks went on a 23-5 run over the final eight minutes of the quarter to send UW-Whitewater into halftime with a 52-23 lead.
Gillis and fellow forward
Brooke Stenklyft (Cambridge, Wis./Cambridge) paced the UWW offense in the first half combining for 23 points on 11-15 from the floor.
The Warhawk offense continued to surge on the other side of the intermission as
Bri McCurdy (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls) knocked down a pair of triples in just over a minute to open the third pushing the gap into the 30s. UWW maintained a lead of at least 20 the rest of the way.
McCurdy posted a game-high 18 points bolstered by 4-6 from long range while adding four rebounds and three assists. Gillis tallied 17 points on 8-9 from the floor with three boards and a pair of steals. Stenklyft added 15 points with four rebounds and a game-high five assists.
Lily Newton (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) led UW-Whitewater on the glass with six rebounds and rounded out the Warhawks in double figures with 14 points after hitting 4-5 from beyond the arc.
UWW advances to the championship game of the 25th Annual McWilliams Classic with the win. The Warhawks will take on the winner of WashU and Central Saturday at 4 PM.
