The No. 21 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team used a strong start and a great third quarter Friday night to defeat Luther (Iowa) 70-51 on the first day of the UW-Stevens Point Tipoff Tournament in Stevens Point.

The Warhawks (1-1 overall) held the Norse to 31.3 percent shooting for the game, including a 27 percent clip in the second half. UW-Whitewater outscored Luther 15-7 at the free-throw line and shot 46.3 percent from the field, including 52 percent in the second half.

Junior guard Camri Conley posted a game-high 15 points to go with four assists and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Emily Schumacher tallied 12 points and seven rebounds, and junior guard Becky Raeder and freshman guard Veronica Kieres collected 11 points apiece.

Sophomore guard Adriana Green finished with six points and a team-high 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Sydney Smith added seven points.

The Warhawks outscored the Norse 22-11 in the first quarter, building their lead all the way up to 13 after a 3-pointer by Schumacher with 2:36 on the clock.

Luther (0-1) made a late charge in the second quarter, cutting the UW-Whitewater lead to five before a 3-pointer by Raeder helped the Warhawks take a 35-29 advantage into halftime.

UW-Whitewater started the third quarter on a 10-0 run over the first five minutes as Raeder capped the spurt with back-to-back jumpers to make it 45-29 midway through the period.

The Warhawks led by a game-high 19 points one minute into the fourth quarter on a 3-point play by Kieres and a layup by Conley to swell their advantage to 54-35.

The Norse got no closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

UW-Whitewater continues tournament action Saturday at 3 p.m. against Dubuque (Iowa).