Today is Tuesday, July 30, 2024
By Chris Lindeke, Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Friday, March 11, 2022
Rebekah Schumacher’s Steal-and-Layup (Video)
The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team erased a five-point deficit over the final minute of overtime and went ahead for good on [Whitewater native] Rebekah Schumacher’s steal-and-layup in the final seconds Friday night on its way to a thrilling 78-76 victory against No. 16 Smith (Mass.) in a third-round game of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship at Kachel Gymnasium [with 1220 fans in attendance.]
The Warhawks (26-4 overall) host Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-Oshkosh (22-6) in the Whitewater Sectional final on Saturday at 7 p.m. inside Kachel Gymnasium. The winner of the contest advances to the Final Four, which will be contested March 17 and 19 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Tickets for Saturday’s game will go on sale starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Kachel Gymnasium entrance. Doors to the gym will open at 6 p.m. The first 150 UW-Whitewater students to attend will receive free admission courtesy of DLK Enterprises and UW-W Housing.
UW-Whitewater trailed in Friday’s game 76-71 with just over a minute to play in overtime. Maggie Trautsch was fouled on a 3-point attempt on the team’s first possession in the final minute and knocked down all three free throws to bring UW-W within two.
After a stop on the other end, Trautsch was fouled in the lane and hit two more from the free-throw line to tie the game at 76-76.
The Pioneers (25-3) advanced the ball into their half court following a timeout. With seven seconds to play, Schumacher stole the inbound pass and saved it to Aleah Grundahl, who fired a pass down the court to a wide-open Schumacher, who layed the ball in uncontested with less than one second on the clock.
Smith was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.
Kacie Carollo tallied a team-high 19 points, while Grundahl finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Yssa Sto. Domingo knocked down five 3-pointers on her way to 15 points, and Trautsch hit 7-of-9 at the free-throw line on her way to 12 points.
The Warhawks converted 27-of-36 (75 percent) from the free-throw line and hit 9-of-20 (45 percent) from 3-point range. The Pioneers shot 46.9 percent from the floor.
UW-W raced out to a 6-0 lead before Smith rallied for the next 11 points for an 11-6 lead at the midway point of the first quarter. Trautsch gave the Warhawks a 19-18 advantage in the final minute of the period with a driving layup.
UW-Whitewater built its lead to six following a 3-pointer by Carollo with 6:21 on the clock. The Pioneers responded with a 9-0 run for a three-point lead just over three minutes later. Neither team led by more than one possession over the final half of the period, and UW-W held a 36-34 advantage.
The third quarter remained tightly contested until Sto. Domingo hit a 3-pointer between a pair of baskets by Grundahl for a 51-43 UW-W lead with 2:08 remaining. The Warhawk lead grew to as many as nine, but Smith trimmed its deficit to four by the end of the third.
The two teams went back and forth to start the fourth quarter before Carollo’s 3-pointer with 6:29 to play made it 61-56. She hit two free throws just over a minute later for a 63-56 score before the Pioneers rallied to tie the game at 63-63 with 2:54 on the clock.
Grundahl gave UW-Whitewater the lead with 2:25 left, and neither team scored again until the final seconds, when Smith tied the game on a layup to send it to overtime.
Sto. Domingo started the extra period with a 3-pointer, but the Pioneers held the lead for a majority of the overtime before Trautsch’s five free throws and Schumacher’s final bucket sent the Warhawks to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2014.
UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh have met three times this season prior to Saturday’s matchup. The Warhawks took two of three games from the Titans, including a 67-59 win on Feb. 23 in the semifinals of the WIAC Tournament at Kachel Gymnasium. The two teams split two regular season games, with the home team taking both contests.
[Homepage photo credit: Evan Halpop, UW-W student photographer, Feb. 9, 2022 game]
On Saturday evening, with a large number of fans on both sides, the Warhawk women came out on top versus Oshkosh, 68-62. The Division III Championship is at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, PA on Thursday and Saturday, March 17 and 19. A complete report on tonight’s game will be posted when provided by UW-W.
By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
UW-W’s women’s basketball played a thriller Sweet 16 game on Friday evening in Kachel Gymnasium, with Whitewater native Rebekah Schumacher hitting a layup with essentially no time left in overtime versus Smith College of Massachusetts. The Warhawks move to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2014, to play conference rival UW-Oshkosh for the fourth time this season. UW-W won two of the previous three games, including the semifinal in the WIAC tournament, 67-59. Oshkosh advanced to the Elite 8 with a 74-63 defeat of Baldwin Wallace (OH) earlier on Friday evening. Saturday’s tip-off in Kachel Gymnasium is at 7:00 p.m.
Further details on Friday’s game will be posted upon receipt from UW-W.
The Whitewater Boys’ Basketball Team traveled to Racine on Friday, March 4th, to take on Racine Saint Catherine’s, in a second-round regional game. Unfortunately, for the second time in three years, the Angels ended Whitewater’s season, as they defeated the Whippets, 62-45.
After an inspiring win against Saint Francis on Tuesday, Whitewater carried that energy into the first half, as they controlled the pace and took a 21-11 lead with a little over four minutes left. Saint Cat’s began to change the momentum, however, as they closed the half on an 8-2 run, but the Whippets still led 23-19.
The second half was controlled by Racine. The Angels took the lead, 24-23, a minute in, and never looked back, as they outscored Whitewater, 27-8, to take a 51-31 lead with five minutes left. The effort was there for the Whippets, but they just couldn’t get anything going against Saint Cat’s aggressive defense.
Whitewater was led by Jon Aron’s 12 points and 5 rebounds. Wyatt Nickels scored 11 points and had 5 rebounds. Arno Crowley scored 5 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Ramon Wence had 4 points and 3 rebounds. Sam Brown scored 5 points and handed out 3 assists.
Article Submitted by Dwayne Lange
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