The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team used its physicality and size to its advantage Saturday night in a 72-54 victory against Illinois Wesleyan in a second-round game of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship at Kachel Gymnasium.

With the win, the Warhawks (25-4) advance to the Round of 16, where they'll face No. 16 Smith (Mass.) on Friday, March 11, at a site to be determined. Sectional locations are expected to be announced Sunday.

UW-Whitewater grabbed 17 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points, held a 36-22 advantage on points in the paint and limited the Titans (20-9) to 36.2 percent shooting on the defensive end.

Aleah Grundahl led all scorers with 18 points to go with eight rebounds. Yssa Sto. Domingo was also in double figures with 10 points to go with three assists and five steals, while Johanna Taylor posted nine points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Kacie Carollo tallied nine points, seven assists and four rebounds and Rebekah Schumacher finished with eight points.

The Warhawks raced out to an 11-4 lead just over three minutes into the contest thanks to a 3-pointer by Carollo, and the lead grew to double digits by the 3:45 mark of the first quarter on a pull-up jumper by Maggie Trautsch.

UW-W led by as many as 12 in the period before the Titans pulled to within 21-15 by the end of the quarter.

UW-Whitewater led throughout the second quarter, but the margin narrowed to five by halftime on a last-second IWU jumper.

The Warhawks' lead increased back to double digits with 6:45 left in the third quarter following a jumper by Veronica Kieres. After a pair of Illinois Wesleyan free throws, UW-W scored seven straight points to bring the advantage to 51-36 at the 3:20 mark.

UW-Whitewater's lead never fell below 11 in the final quarter.

The Warhawks will make their fourth appearance in the Sweet 16 under head coach Keri Carollo and first since 2014. UW-Whitewater and Smith have never met.