The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team maintained sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings Wednesday night with a 72-60 triumph at No. 19 UW-Oshkosh.
Five players scored in double figures for the Warhawks (19-3 overall, 9-2 WIAC), who committed only 10 turnovers while forcing 20 on the other end. The team shot 44.6 percent from the floor and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the free-throw line in the contest.
UW-Whitewater never trailed over the final three quarters after taking the lead for good with 45 seconds to play in the first.
Senior guard Brooke Trewyn led the Warhawks with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and a career-high seven steals. Senior guard Malia Smith tallied 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, and junior forward Sarah Schumacher collected 12 points.
Sophomore guard Camri Conley totaled 11 points, and junior forward Olivia Freckmann posted 10 points, five rebounds and five steals.
The game was tied four times in the opening quarter. The Titans (17-4, 7-4) took their final advantage of the game at 12-11 with 1:18 to play in the period before Trewyn gave UW-Whitewater the lead on a layup 33 seconds later.
The Warhawks stretched their lead out midway through the second quarter and built it to seven on a layup by Conley with 3:58 remaining. Conley hit two free throws with 24 seconds on the clock to give the Warhawks a 27-20 halftime advantage.
UW-Oshkosh narrowed its deficit to one three minutes into the third quarter, but UW-Whitewater countered with a 9-1 run on points from four different players to take a 38-29 advantage midway through the period.
Smith give the Warhawks their first double-digit lead of the game at 42-31 with 3:53 left, and Freckmann hit a jumper in the waning moments to make it 51-35 heading to the fourth.
The Titans were unable to cut significantly into the UW-Whitewater advantage in the fourth quarter. The Warhawks maintained the lead by hitting 13 free throws over the final 8:44 of regulation.
UW-Whitewater hosts UW-River Falls Saturday at 3 p.m. on Senior Day at Kachel Gymnasium. The Warhawks will recognize Smith, Trewyn and senior forward Andrea Meinert during the trio's second-to-last regular season home game.