The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team asserted itself near the basket both offensively and defensively Saturday afternoon on its way to a 73-64 victory against No. 10 UW-Eau Claire in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.

The Warhawks (13-1 overall, 4-0 WIAC) outscored the Blugolds 40-8 in the paint and posted 25 assists on their 29 made baskets.

Aleah Grundahl scored a game-high 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added five rebounds and three steals to lead UW-Whitewater, which limited UW-Eau Claire (11-3, 2-1) to 37.5 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers, including 10 in the first half.

Rebekah Schumacher converted 4-of-5 from 3-point range on her way to 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Johanna Taylor tallied 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two blocks, and Abby Belschner registered eight points and three assists.

The Warhawks scored the first five points of the contest, but the Blugolds rallied and took a 15-10 advantage with 3:32 left in the first quarter. UW-W finished the quarter on a 7-0 run, including a pull-up jumper by Maggie Trautsch in the final seconds for a 21-18 advantage.

UW-Eau Claire closed to within one point just over two minutes into the second quarter before UW-Whitewater embarked on a 9-0 run to take a 32-22 lead at the 3:48 mark on a driving layup by Grundahl.

UW-W led by as many as 11 in the period and held a 38-30 halftime edge.

The Warhawks built their lead to 12 points with 7:32 left in the third quarter thanks to six points from the frontcourt, including four from Grundahl and two from Taylor. UW-W's advantage grew to 13 points with 2:19 on the clock, and the team held a 10-point lead heading to the fourth.

The Blugolds closed to within six at the 5:52 mark of the fourth before Schumacher's 3-pointer at the midway point of the quarter made it 62-53. After UWEC got within five with 3:24 to play, the Warhawks scored eight of the next nine points, including a 3-point play by Taylor and a jumper by Trautsch to close the run with 1:15 to go.

UW-Whitewater visits UW-Platteville this Wednesday at 7 p.m.