Editor’s note: The following article appeared in the Lexington [KY] Herald Leader on March 4. The Warhawk Women’s Basketball team is playing Hope College (MI) on Friday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kachel Gymnasium in the Williams Center. Transylvania University plays UW-Stout at 5:00 p.m. See this post for further information. Kachel Gym has a seating capacity of 2495. The Warhawk women would appreciate a great crowd, which also might have an impact on NCAA decisions for home court for future women’s and men’s basketball tournament games.

“Extremely disappointed.’ Transy not happy NCAA sent its women’s basketball team packing.

The NCAA revealed on Sunday that Transylvania women’s basketball will travel to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for — and not host — the second weekend of the 2024 Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Pioneers (29-0), the second-overall seed in this year’s tournament, are the only unbeaten team to not receive hosting privileges for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. Top-overall seed NYU (27-0), which did not host in the opening weekend due to its men’s team hosting the opening weekend (men’s teams receive hosting priority in even years, women’s teams in odd), and third-overall seed Rhode Island College (29-0), which did host the opening rounds, will both play in front of a home crowd this weekend.

Transylvania did serve as host for the opening round games on Friday and Saturday, but will travel roughly seven hours northwest for the next round. Administrators connected to the program expressed their frustration with the NCAA’s decision to select Wisconsin-Whitewater (24-4) as the tournament’s second-weekend host. Transylvania University president Brien Lewis shared his distaste for the decision with NCAA president Charlie Baker in an early afternoon email shared with the Herald-Leader. “Dear President Baker, “I am extremely disappointed to learn that despite being the undefeated national champions and being on a historic 62-game winning streak (the third longest in DIII women’s basketball), the Transylvania Pioneers will not be hosting the next round but will be sent on a 7-hour bus trip to Whitewater, Wisconsin. “To say that this seems a very poor way of rewarding consistent outstanding performance by these student athletes and their dedicated supporters is a gross understatement. “While I understand and applaud the general policy of limiting flights and travel, this does not appear appropriate or reasonable in these circumstances and given the bracketing and results of the tournament to date. “I regret having no alternative at this point but to express this frustration very publicly. “Sincerely, Brien”

A representative of Transylvania University said Lewis’ email may be used as the university’s statement. Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference commissioner Jay Jones issued the following statement via email to the Herald-Leader on Sunday. “It is always disheartening when your team is not given the respect and recognition they have earned. While we have been assured that the decision was based on a travel and cost-saving policy, it nonetheless puts a defending national champion, that has not lost a game in two seasons, over seven hours from home. I hurt for the players, their families and the city of Lexington that has really embraced this team over the last two seasons and deserved a chance to support them on their home floor next weekend.”

According to D3hoops.com, the purveyor of the widely accepted regular season rankings for both men’s and women’s Division III college basketball, there is no perfect formula for deciphering which teams get to host.

“The NCAA Tournament selection committees build the brackets and decide which schools will host each weekend. While teams with higher regional rankings have a better chance to host, several factors go into hosting decisions including geography, facilities, attendance history and revenue potential and a school’s willingness to host. The NCAA has encouraged the committees to keep travel costs down, especially during the opening weekend, so the committee may give hosting opportunities to a lower seeded team that is closer to the other teams in the pod and reduces the number of flights the NCAA has to cover. If a team is 500 miles or more from the game site, the NCAA will pay for the team’s flight.” Per the most recent NCAA regional rankings as of games through Feb. 25, Transylvania is the No. 1 team in Region VIII. Wisconsin-Whitewater is the top team in Region IX. The Warhawks reached their third straight Sweet 16 with an 86-47 victory over Minnesota-Morris in the first round and an 89-65 defeat of Millikin in the second round. Region IV leader NYU’s bracket quarter contains two other region Nos. 1 in Region V leader Scranton (27-2) and Region X leader Hardin-Simmons (26-3). Bowdoin (27-2), the top team in Region I, and Rhode Island College, the No. 1 team in Region II, are the only region leaders in their respective bracket quarters.

Last season, unbeaten Transylvania hosted the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament before traveling to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, for the second weekend. The Pioneers [from Transylvania] went on to win the first national championship in program history. Transylvania faces the University of Wisconsin-Stout at 6 p.m. EST [5 p.m. Whitewater time] on Friday at the Kachel Gymnasium in Williams Center before Wisconsin-Whitewater and Hope College (26-3) tip off at 8:30 p.m.[7:30 p.m. Whitewater time] Wisconsin-Stout (23-7) defeated Washington University in St. Louis 71-61 in the first round and Puget Sound 61-40 in the second round to reach the Sweet 16.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will host the next two rounds of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament in Kachel Gymnasium Friday-Saturday, March 8 and 9. 

Game Times | NCAA Bracket

Friday, March 8 – 5 PM – Wis.-Stout (23-7) (d3hoops.com #23) vs. Transylvania (29-0) (d3hoops.com #2)

Friday, March 8 – 7:30 PM – Wis.-Whitewater (24-4) (d3hoops.com #9) vs. Hope College (26-3) (d3hoops.com #12)

Saturday, March 9 – 7 PM – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Tickets/Parking

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth, students and seniors. Fans should park in Lot 11 (Williams Center) or Lot 24 (Perkins Stadium). Parking is free. 

Live Stream

All games will be available via live stream on the WIAC Network courtesy of UWWTV.  Friday evening’s game will also be broadcast locally on Spectrum channel 989.

For additional tournament information, visit the Tournament Page. 

Editor’s note: This press release was received from UW-Whitewater.

Aleah Grundahl and Kacie Carollo celebrate after the win (Olivia Zinanni)

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

 The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III Tournament with an 89-65 win over Millikin Saturday night in Kachel Gym. Junior guard Kacie Carollo led the way with the first triple-double in UWW history — 27 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists. 

The Warhawks will make a third straight appearance in the round of 16 starting next week. UWW will face Hope on March 8 with both the time and location of the game to be announced by the NCAA in the coming days. Information on the next round of play will be released when available.

UW-Whitewater was dialed in for the second straight game shooting over 60-percent from the floor. The Warhawks set the tone early as Katie Hildebrandt tallied the first bucket of the game. Carollo made it 5-0 UWW after drilling a three-pointer. She added an old-fashioned three-point play 40 seconds later, powering in a layup and hitting the ensuing free throw to push the lead to 8-2. The Warhawks continued to build throughout the quarter with Carollo finding Aleah Grundahl under the basket for a last second layin to give UWW a 24-15 lead after the first. 

Grundahl and Carollo combined for 18 points on 7-10 from the floor in the first 10 minutes of action. The pair continued their phenomenal play with 11 points on 5-8 from the floor while Carollo posted six boards and four assists in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the whole offense was clicking in the quarter as UW-Whitewater hit 9-13 as a team. By the intermission, the Warhawk advantage grew to 21-points, 46-25. 

Defensively, Renee Rittmeyer drew the tough task of guarding the 2023 Division III Player of the Year in Elyce Knudsen for the majority of the half. Rittmeyer and the UWW defense allowed just 10 points from the second-best scorer in the nation in the first 20 minutes of action. 

Although the teams were even in the third period – each scoring 24 – Millikin made a run to narrow the gap to 15 at one point. The Big Blue’s potent offense seemed to be getting going, but the Warhawk offense could not be slowed. UWW shot 73-percent from the floor in the period hitting 8-11 to all but seal the game. 

In addition to Carollo’s team-leading triple-double, Grundahl dropped in 26 bolstered by 10-15 from the floor. She added five boards, four steals and a pair of assists. Hildebrandt posted double figures in the scoring column with 13 while Mallory Oloffson hit 4-5 from the field for 10 points. Hildebrandt led all players with three blocks in the game

By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

Kacie Carollo hits a three-pointer in the first half against Minnesota Morris (Olivia Zinanni)

Updated 3/2/24 @ 4:30 p.m. to add ticket prices. (See end of article.)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team opened the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament with an 86-47 win over Minnesota Morris Friday night in Kachel Gym in the Williams Center.

The Warhawks came out on fire hitting 9-11 to open up a 19-8 advantage by the first media timeout. By the end of the quarter, UWW led 26-14 bolstered by 10 points from Aleah Grundahl. UWW continued to cruise through the first half building a 36-point lead by halftime, 58-22. UW-Whitewater shot well nearly 70-percent (13-19) in the first 20 minutes while forcing 16 turnovers on the defensive end. 

UWW played all 15 active players* with 10 entering the scoring column in the game. Grundahl led the way with 20 points on 9-16 from the floor. She added four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Kacie Carollo posted 11 points and led the Warhawks with six boards and six assists. Katie Hildebrandt hit 5-7 from the floor for 10 points in the game. 

The pace and ball movement favored the Warhawk offense as UWW held a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint. 

UW-Whitewater advances to face Millikin in the second round. The game against the Big Blue is slated for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Kachel Gym in the Williams Center. Millikin topped Willamette 91-83 in their first round matchup Friday. 

The Warhawks are 4-2 against Millikin all-time and most recently defeated the Big Blue 79-69 in a game played in Kachel Gym last season. The winner punches their ticket to the Round of 16. 

Tickets – available at the door 60 minutes prior to tip-off:

• $15 for adults
• $10 for students with a valid college ID, seniors and youth
• Free for children 3 years old and under

*NCAA rules only allow for 15 active players in postseason games