Although the game was tied 9-9 with 14:10 left in the first half, UW-W never trailed in the first twenty minutes.  From 9-9 UW-W pushed the lead to 15-9 on a layup by senior center Cortney Kumerow at 10:17.  A rebound put-back by junior guard Katie Burton made it 20-13 at 8:08, and Kumerow twice traded baskets with the Titans to give UW-W an eight point lead, 24-16 and 26-18.  Senior guard Megan Theune's three-pointer gave the Warhawks their first double digit lead, 31-21, and she followed with a three point play for Whitewater's largest lead of the half, 34-23 with 1:43 remaining.  IWU responded with a 7-0 run to close within 34-30, and the half ended 35-30.

UW-W had a 24-17 lead on the boards in the first half.  The Warhawks shot 41% from the floor, including 3-6 from beyond the arc, and made their only free throw attempt.  Illinois Wesleyan senior guard Melissa Gardner led both teams with 11 points, hitting 4-5 shots and 3-4 threes.  The Titans shot 35% from the field, were 3-11 from the arc (meaning, minus Gardner, IWU was 0-7), and made 4-6 free throws.

Whitewater's lead again reached double digits, 40-30, at the 17:40 mark after a three point play by junior guard Kaitlyn Thill.  Wesleyan clawed back to tie the game at 47-47 at 11:12, largely on the back of junior center Lexi Baltes' eight points in the stretch. 

UW-W head coach Keri Carollo called timeout, and something said worked, because the Warhawks came back on the floor to outscore the Titans 8-0 for a 55-47 lead. 

With Whitewater in the lead 61-60 at 5:37, both teams lost their GPS and couldn't find the basket, going scoreless until Baltes hit two free throws for IWU at 2:37 to put the Titans in front 62-61. 

The teams traded points until senior guard Michelle Bilek hit a three-pointer to put the Titans in front 67-63 with 1:41 remaining.  Kumerow's layup cut the Warhawk deficit to 67-65 at 1:10.  The Warhawks traded a basket for free throws twice in the last twenty seconds, but IWU made all four attempts to hold on.

Illinois Wesleyan wasn't just good at the line in the waning seconds.  The Titans made 16-19 charity tosses in the second half, compared to 5-7 for the Warhawks.  For the game, IWU was 22-27 from the line, Whitewater 7-10. 

Thill took game scoring honors with 21 points, also dishing out eight assists to lead both teams.  Kumerow added 14 points, and Burton chipped in with 12 and a game leading eight rebounds.  Gardner scored 19, hitting 4-5 three's, with Baltes adding 18 (6-6 at the line), and junior guard Colleen McMahon contributing 17 points (6-6 FT) and four blocked shots.

Whitewater and Illinois Wesleyan are both 3-2 this season.

UW-W will open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday at UW-Stout in Menomonie.  Tipoff is 6:00.  The Warhawks' next appearance at home will be Wednesday, December 5 at 7:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center.