ST. PAUL, Minn. – The UW-Whitewater women's basketball team went 25-28 from the free throw line to defeat St. Thomas, 87-78, and advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Warhawks will face UW-Oshkosh in the round of 16 Friday, March 14 at a site to be determined. UW-Oshkosh topped Washington University-St. Louis in a second round game, 72-66. Click here to view the UW-Whitewater Championship Website.
 
Kristen Ruchti (Brodhead/Brodhead) came off the bench to score a season-high 25 points to lead all scorers. Mary Merg (Greendale/Greendale) added 22 points to the UW-W tally with seven boards and a game-high eight assists. Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) was the third Warhawk in double figures with 14 points. Whitewater shot 44% (28-63) from the field to the Tommies' 52% (30-57).
 
UW-W turned the ball over just eight times on the night and St. Thomas was unable to capitalize. The Warhawks took advantage of the Tommies' 16 turnovers by scoring 11 points on their ensuing possession.
 
The two teams fought a hard battle in the first half, with nine ties and six lead changes. Neither team was able to gain momentum with the see-saw scoring through most of the half. St. Thomas gained some steam going into the locker room, taking a six-point lead three times in the final 3:12.
 
Whitewater shot 38% (12-31) from the floor in the first half to St. Thomas' 52% (14-27). Both teams shot well from the charity stripe, with the Tommies hitting 11-12 and UW-W going 8-9.
 
The Warhawks came out shooting in the second half, hitting four of the first five field goals and Merg added a pair of free throws to give UW-W a 46-42 lead. St. Thomas tied the game for the 11th time, 58-58, at the 11:02 mark and took a one-point lead with 9:08 left.
 
UW-W scored eight consecutive points to extend its lead to seven, 69-62, and it never let the lead drop below four points the remainder of the game. The Warhawks hit their last 14 shots from the free throw line to hold off the Tommies down the stretch.