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Warhawk women make statement

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Warhawk Kelsey Hendrickson battles for the ball between Eau Claire's Heather Witt, left, and Missy Fremstad on Saturday.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Eau Claire's Ashley Anderson deflects a shot by Warhawk Chantel Burg on Saturday.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Warhawk Tiffany Morton eyes the hoop with Eau Claire's Heidi Arciszewski reaching for the ball on Saturday.

WHITEWATER — What’s in a number?

That’s the question that a few WIAC teams asked when the season began with UW-Whitewater ranked No. 1 one in the country.

Whitewater provided a convincing 40-minute answer to that question Saturday evening against unbeaten UW-Eau Claire.

Kelsey Hendrickson and Tiffany Morton each had a game-high 19 points as No. 4 Whitewater handed No. 3 Eau Claire its first loss of the season, 73-61, in a WIAC showdown at Kachel Gym.

The decisive victory moves Whitewater (14-1, 5-1) into a second-place tie with Eau Claire (12-1, 4-1), a half-game behind Stevens Point (5-0) in the WIAC.

Conference standings aside, the Warhawk victory also provided a much-needed boost to Whitewater.

“We got our confidence back,” Whitewater coach Keri Carollo said. “And really, that’s all it is in the women’s game. If you have confidence, you can really go a long ways.”

The Warhawk confidence appeared to waver early in the second half when the Blugolds used an 11-4 run to cut a 10-point halftime deficit to 38-35 with 14:09 to play.

With momentum in Eau Claire’s favor, Morton, the Warhawks’ leading scorer, took control of the game, scoring 17 second-half points, including eight in the final four minutes to seal the victory.

“Every time that we play each other, it’s going to be a great matchup and both teams have great players,” Eau Claire coach Tonja Englund said. “I think they were able to take advantage of Morton down the stretch.”

Meanwhile, Carollo gave the credit to team discipline down the stretch.

“We knew Eau Claire was going to make a run here and there and make good plays,” Carollo said. “So we just had to make sure that when we had our chance on offense, we would take care of the ball and get shots.

The Warhawks’ good shot selection took shape in the first half. After clinging to an 18-14 advantage, Whitewater drained three three-pointers during a crucial 15-5 run that built a 33-19 lead with 3:04 left in the first.

Whitewater went on to sink five first half three-pointers en route to a 34-24 halftime lead.

“I think it just came down to a slow start for us,” Englund said. “We missed a lot of shots inside right away where we got a finish better and take advantage of our height.”

Eau Claire never gained the lead in the second half.

UW-WHITEWATER 73, UW-EAU CLAIRE 61

UW-Eau Claire (61)—Fremstad 4-5 0-0 8, Lindner 3-5 1-1 7, witt 2-7 0-0 5, Arciszewski 7-19 3-4 18, Mesick 5-13 4-4 14, Weinberg 2-5 1-2 7, Kaeding 0-2 0-0 0, Gillberg 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 1-8 0-1 2. Totals: 24-65 9-12 61.

UW-Whitewater (73)—Hendrickson 5-10 6-8 19, Woolever 3-4 0-0 8, Morton 5-14 9-11 19, Sonntag 0-1 3-4 3, Schmidt 4-10 0-0 8, Bundy 2-4 2-2 7, Thompson 1-2 3-4 5, Burg 2-2 0-2 4. Totals: 22-47 23-31 73.

UW-Eau Claire 24 37—61

UW-Whitewater 34 39—73

Three-point goals—Eau Claire 4-15 (Weinberg 2-5, Witt 1-5, Arciszewski 1-3, Fremstad 0-1, Kaeding 0-1), Whitewater 6-11 (Hendrickson 3-5, Woolever 2-3, Bundy 1-2, Schmidt 0-1). Fouled out—Mesick. Rebounds—Eau Claire 34 (Arciszewski 7), Whitewater 38 (Morton 8). Assists—Eau Claire 14 (Fremstad 5), Whitewater 15 (Woolever 4). Total fouls—Eau Claire 23, Whitewater 15.

Attendance—667.