The No. 4 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team broke open a close game early in the second quarter Thursday afternoon on its way to a 79-51 victory against Edgewood in a non-conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.

The Warhawks (11-0 overall) forced 36 turnovers, one short of their season high, and tallied 20 steals, their third straight game of 20 or more.

Aleah Grundahl paced UW-Whitewater with 19 points, six rebounds and six steals. Maggie Trausch also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with five rebounds.

Hailey Voelker registered nine points and two assists, while Courtney Oomens totaled eight points. Abby Belschner grabbed a team-best seven rebounds to go along with her seven points, and Rebekah Schumacher collected six points, six rebounds and two blocks.

UW-W took the lead on the second possession of the contest and didn't relinquish it. The team took its first double-digit advantage at 12-2 with 5:50 on the clock.

The Eagles (1-10) cut their deficit to six in the waning seconds of the first quarter, but Trautsch knocked down a jumper as the horn sounded to make it 23-15.

The Warhawks outscored Edgewood 26-11 in the second quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding the Eagles to 36.4 percent in the frame. UW-W scored 17 straight points over a four-minute span to take a 45-21 advantage following a 3-pointer by Schumacher to cap the run with 2:33 left and led 49-26 at halftime.

UW-Whitewater built its lead up to 63-34 by the end of the third quarter, and led by as many as 35 points in the fourth.

The Warhawks visit Carroll this Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. in Waukesha.