The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team extended its regular season, non-conference winning streak to 20 games Tuesday night with a 65-43 victory over Carroll at Kachel Gymnasium.
The Warhawks (8-0 overall), ranked 16th by D3hoops.com and 22nd by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, forced 30 turnovers and surged ahead of the Pioneers with a 25-point second quarter, when the team shot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the floor.
Junior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led a balance UW-Whitewater offense with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go along with three steals. Senior guard Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) tallied all 10 of her points in the first half, while junior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) collected seven points and a team-best nine rebounds.
Nineteen different players appeared in the game for the Warhawks, who held wide advantages in points off turnovers (29-13), points in the paint (36-14) and bench points (37-9)
UW-Whitewater overcame a rocky start as Carroll (0-10) sprinted out to an 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.
The Warhawks scored nine of the last 10 points in the first quarter and opened the second on a 10-0 run that featured five different scorers. The team extended its lead all the way to 39-23 by halftime behind Stewart's 10 points, a 48.5 percent shooting performance from the field and 14 forced turnovers.
UW-Whitewater built its lead to more than 20 points nearly midway through the third quarter on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Emily Kraft (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central). The advantage swelled to 27 on a 3-pointer by freshman guard/forward Taylor McIlwraith (Mequon, Wis./Mequon Homestead) with 32 seconds to play in the period.
The Warhawks never allowed their lead to sink below 20 points in the fourth quarter.
UW-Whitewater continues non-conference play next Tuesday, Dec. 20, at Augustana. Tipoff in Rock Island, Ill., is slated for 7 p.m.