Kacie Carollo’s career-high 33 points paced the No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team to a 65-58 win over Wheaton (IL) Wednesday night. 

The Warhawks capitalized on the pace of play, pushing the ball forward to outscore the Thunder 22-4 on fast break points. The free throw line became pivotal late in the contest as UWW hit 20-25 in the contest compared to Wheaton’s 14-16. 

UW-Whitewater pushed the pace early, tallying 10 fastbreak points in the first 10 minutes to build a 20-14 lead after the first period. Carollo took over in the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Warhawks’ 16 points in the period. She was 4-8 from the field, 2-4 from three-point range and 2-2 from the charity stripe. At the intermission, UWW held a 36-29 advantage heading into the locker room. 

The Thunder whittled away at the lead on the other side of the break eventually pulling to within two, 42-40. A bucket by Renee Rittmeyer followed by a pair of Carollo free throws quickly pushed the margin back to six, 46-40, with 4:17 left in the third. Carollo added another free throw about a minute later before Wheaton capped the scoring in the period with a pair of free throws. Heading into the fourth, UWW held a 47-42 lead. 

The Warhawks scored the first four points of the fourth from the charity stripe – all four made by Katie Hildebrandt – to extend the gap to nine, 51-42. Over the next seven minutes, Wheaton cut into the margin eventually tying the game 56-56 at the 1:43 mark. 

On the offensive end, Carollo knocked down one of the biggest triples of the game to put UWW back on top. The Thunder countered with a step back jumper that dropped to narrow the lead to one and the Wheaton coach immediately signaled for a timeout. UW-Whitewater perfectly executed a play with Hildebrandt hitting a cutting Carollo perfectly in stride for the layin and another three-point UWW advantage with 29.4 seconds to go. 

Wheaton forced up a three-pointer on their end and Bri McCurdy chased down the board drawing a foul in the process. She hit both free throws to add a cushion with 11.1 to go. Carollo came up with a big block on the defensive end before capping the game with the final two points of the contest on a pair of free throws for the seven-point win. 

Carollo tallied a double-double with 33 points and 10 boards. She added three assists, three blocks and three steals in 39 minutes played. Hildebrandt added 13 bolstered by a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe while hauling in five boards. Rittmeyer was active on defense with five steals while dishing out three assists on the offensive end. 

UW-Whitewater will head south for a pair of games at Daytona Beach on December 20 and 21. The Warhawks will wrap up 2024 against Calvin at 1 PM on December 30 in Kachel Gym before opening 2025 with conference play.