On a cold day (minus ten overnight) UW-Whitewater, the leading field goal and free throw shooting team in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, went cold -- but made up for the lack of accuracy with a season low ten turnovers, while forcing UW-Superior into 28 turnovers, in a 69-50 Whitewater win in Motorelli Gym in Superior Saturday afternoon.

Whitewater led 13-4 by the 15:07 mark on an Emily Bestor three-pointer.  The Yellowjackets came back to within 13-12, but UW-W followed with a 11-0 run to lead 24-12 with 7:55 left in the first half.  Whitewater's defense held UW-S without a point for over six minutes.  The lead reached 30-16 on a layup by UW-W's Cortney Kumerow with 3:00 left, and the Warhawks took a 33-22 lead into the lockerroom.

Kumerow led all scorers with 11 points in the first half.  The Warhawks forced 16 Yellowjacket turnovers, while UW-W had five.

The second half was devoid of any fireworks, great runs or stalls, and Whitewater's lead was never challenged.  The Warhawk lead inched up from nine, as close as UW-S got in the second, to the final score, which was Whitewater's largest lead of the game.

UW-W, the scoring leader in the WIAC at 70.7 coming in, demonstrated that there is more than one way get the points.  Fifth in the NCAA III (yes, national) statistics in free throw percentage at .768, Whitewater shot just 57% in Superior.  And UW-W didn't make up for quality with quantity.  Whitewater has averaged 19 free throw attempts per game, but had just 14 Saturday.  The shots weren't falling from the field either.  Nineteenth in the NCAA III statistics in field goal accuracy at .436, UW-W fell short of that at 40%.  But the Warhawks were close to their WIAC-leading scoring average, 70.7, because of the turnover margin, with UW-W scoring 37 points off turnovers. 

Kumerow, a junior center, took game scoring honors with 17 points, also leading UW-W with nine rebounds.  She also blocked four shots, the most by a Warhawk this season.  Sophomore guard Kaitlyn Thill added ten points, seven assists, and a game high five steals.  Sophomore guard Mary Merg contributed 13 points and senior forward Chantel Burg dished out seven assists with four steals.  The seven assists by Thill and Burg is a season high for UW-W.  Superior was led by senior forwards Bri Davis, 16 points, and Hailey Hart, with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  Freshman guard Deandra Vavra chipped in with five assists.

UW-W, 18-5 overall and 10-4 in the WIAC, won both games with Superior in the regular season.  The Warhawks won 86-55 January 14 in Whitewater.   UW-S is 10-12 overall and 4-11 in league play.

Whitewater will travel to UW-Oshkosh Wednesday for a 7:00 tipoff, then wrap up the regular season at UW-River Falls Saturday.  The WIAC postseason tourney begins Tuesday, February 21, with the top two teams receiving a first round bye and seeds three and four hosting first round games at 7:00.

For additional information:  Keri Carollo, UW-W coach, 262-472-5782 or carollok@uww.edu