By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Waukesha, Wis. — The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team came back from a nine-point halftime deficit to top No. 21 Carroll 62-60 on the road Saturday evening.
After an even first quarter where both teams scored 14, the Warhawk offense struggled in the second. UWW shot just 21-percent from the floor while the Pioneers put up 18 to take a 32-23 lead at the intermission.
UW-Whitewater regrouped and came out on fire on the other side of the break. The Warhawks shot a phenomenal 90-percent (9-10) from the floor including 2-3 from beyond the arc adding a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe in the quarter.
UWW whittled away at the lead eventually grabbing the advantage at the 56 second mark on a layup by Maggie Trautsch. She added a pair of free throws to give the Warhawks a 49-46 lead at the end of the third.
An old-fashioned three-point play for Carroll to open the fourth knotted the game 49-49. UW-Whitewater responded with a five-point run courtesy of a triple from Kacie Carollo and a pair of free throws from Bri McCurdy.
Over the next three minutes, the only bucket was a Pioneer free throw. McCurdy broke the drought with a three-pointer at the 2:20 mark to give UWW a 57-50 lead.
The Pioneers hit a layup that was quickly countered by a Carollo layin for UWW. Back-to-back buckets for CU cut the gap to two, 59-57, with 30 seconds to go.
UWW inbounded to Carollo who dribbled through traffic as time ticked off the clock. The Pioneers finally fouled with 19 seconds left and Carollo hit both from the charity stripe to push the lead back to four, 61-57.
Carroll pushed the ball up the court and hit a quick three to narrow the gap to one with 13 seconds remaining. Carollo was fouled again and hit one of two to give UWW a two-point lead with just under 10 seconds to go.
A foul in the paint stopped the clock with two seconds to go and gave the Pioneers an inbounds play with enough time to get a shot off. Carroll did get a three-pointer off but the shot went wide to seal the Warhawk win.
Carollo paced the Warhawks with 26 points on 9-15 from the floor, 3-5 from deep and 5-6 from the free throw line. Trautsch added 17 bolstered by 3-4 from beyond the arc. Mallory Oloffson pulled down nine boards adding four steals in the game.
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Eau Claire, Wis. — The UW-Whitewater football was dominant in a 48-7 win at UW-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon.
Tyler Vasey and the Warhawk special teams unit set the tone early. Vasey took the opening kick 71 yards down to the UWEC 24-yard line. Three plays later, Jackson Fox nailed a 35-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead. That was the lone score of the first quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Dyson Klubertanz jumped a passing lane inside the Warhawks five-yard line and returned the pick to the 29. The turnover led to UW-Whitewater’s first touchdown of the game – a 14-yard Jason Ceniti to Brian Stanton connection for the 10-0 advantage. That would be all the Warhawks needed in the game, but UWW continued to roll.
UWW scored on the next drive as Drake Martin punched it in for the 17-0 lead. Jaden Hendrickson picked off a pass on the Blugold’s next drive and the Warhawks turned it into points on the other end. Another Ceniti passing touchdown, this time to Vasey from two yards out, put the finishing touches on the drive. Fox split the uprights on the point after for a 20-0 advantage.
On the other side of the break, the Warhawks added 14 points in the third courtesy of a 36-yard Noah Battle run and a 44-yard Vasey carry.
The fourth quarter saw 14 more added to UWW’s total in response to an Eau Claire touchdown early in the period. Ceniti took off on a 38-yard scoring sprint. He added a second score with his feet on a four-yard run to cap the scoring in the game for the 48-7 final.
Ceniti was 10-11 for 149 yards and a passing touchdown. He added 124 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Vasey registered 75 yards on five carries with a touchdown in the game.
Vasey was also the top target with four catches. Steven Hein led the receiving corps with 45 yards on a pair of catches.
Defensively, Kamrin Hutt had a phenomenal game with 12 tackles including 10 solo and a tackle for a loss of two.
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Northfield, Minn. — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s cross country team finished second at the 2024 NCAA North Regional held in Northfield, Minnesota Saturday afternoon.
The top teams from each of the ten regional sites automatically qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship with 22 more teams receiving at-large bids. Additionally, the top seven individuals from each regional, 70 total, who did not qualify with their team will earn a bid to the national championship. The complete championship field will be announced Sunday, November 17 on ncaa.com.
Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender crossed line together with a time of 24:30.40. Patzka officially took fourth with Schlender claiming fifth. The time is the second-fastest for Schlender in a regional meet. Dan Anderson added a 13th-place finish with a time of 24:50.10 while Chris Allen posted a time of 25:04.80 to finish 23rd. Allen’s mark is a regional best for the senior. All four Warhawks earn All-Region recognition with top 35 finishes.
Tucker Johnson crossed the line just outside the top 35 with a time of 25:17.90 for 36th. Conner Murphy was right behind with a time of 25:19.30 for 38th. Alex Metko rounded out the group of Warhawks with a time of 25:43.30 for 56th in the field of over 200 runners.
The 2024 NCAA Division III Championship will be held at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terra Haute, Indiana on Saturday, November 23.
By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Northfield, Minn. — The UW-Whitewater women’s cross country team finished sixth at the 2024 NCAA North Regional held in Northfield, Minnesota Saturday morning.
The top teams from each of the ten regional sites automatically qualify for the 2024 NCAA Division III Championship with 22 more teams receiving at-large bids. Additionally, the top seven individuals from each regional, 70 total, who did not qualify with their team will earn a bid to the national championship. The complete championship field will be announced Sunday, November 17 on ncaa.com.
Ari De La Cerda (Pewaukee, Wis./) paced the Warhawks with a time of 22:25.4 to finish 13th in a field of over 200 runners. A four-time regional participant, De La Cerda’s 2024 time is her best mark and top career finish at the meet. Payton Scoggin (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trails) was clocked in 22:39.7 to finish 19th at the meet. Her mark is also a personal best at the regional. In her second regional appearance, sophomore Renee Forystek (Waukesha, Wis./North) crossed the line in 22:54.9 to claim 29th. As top 35 finishers, De La Cerda, Scoggin and Forystek all earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.
Katie Erb (Winnebago, Ill./) added a time of 23:18.0 to finish 43rd while Ella Hansen’s (Pewaukee, Wis./) time of 23:33.4 was good for 54th. Abbey Wedwick (Westby, Wis./) registered a time of 24:23.5 with teammate Carleen Snow (Rio, Wis./DeForest) crossing the line just .02 later – both rank among the top 100.
The 2024 NCAA Division III Championship will be held at LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terra Haute, Indiana on Saturday, November 23.