STEVENS POINT, Wis. - The UW-Whitewater women's basketball team clinched a first round bye in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament later this month with a 76-55 victory at UW-Stevens Point Wednesday.

Amy Mandrell (Forsyth, IL/Maroa-Forsyth) led all scorers with 18 points adding seven rebounds while Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) added 14 points, going a perfect 4-4 from long range. UW-W shot 45% from the floor and 7-14 from behind the arc. 

Both teams got off to a slow start, scoring only ten points in the opening five minutes of play. The teams played to an 8-8 tie before the Warhawks were able to go on a 7-0 run to go up 15-8 with 10:52 left in the first half.

UW-W stayed in control of the game for the remainder of the half but was unable to stretch its lead into double digits. Point pulled within one, 28-27, with 3:30 left before intermission but Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) hit a last second three to cap a 12-4 Warhawks run to end the half, giving Whitewater a 40-31 advantage going into the locker rooms.

The Warhawks shot 43% (15-35) from the floor in the first half and held the Pointers to 38%. UW-W held a 23-17 edge on the boards including ten offensive rebounds which turned into 11 second chance points. Merg led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, shooting 4-7 from the floor including 3-3 from downtown. Mandrell had 10 points on 5-9 shooting from the floor. 

Whitewater came out of intermission and went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to sixteen, 47-31, just over two minutes into the half. UW-SP closed the deficit to within thirteen, 57-44, with 12:49 left to play but the Pointers were never closer than that as UW-W went on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 21 (67-44) with 7:39 left to play.

UW-W took its largest lead of the game at the 3:44 mark, 76-52.

The Warhawks are 18-3 overall and 12-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and the Pointers fall to 15-6, 8-4.

UW-Whitewater will return home for its next game as it hosts UW-Superior Saturday at 3:00 pm. It is a Play 4Kay game so make sure to wear your pink!