By Chris Lindeke, Assistant Athletic Director, Strategic Communications and Branding, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Saturday, March 12, 2022
The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team executed on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter Saturday night to clinch the program’s fourth trip to the Final Four since 2008 with a 68-62 victory against UW-Oshkosh in front of an energetic crowd at Kachel Gymnasium.
The Warhawks (27-4 overall) will take on Amherst (Mass.) in the national semifinals this Thursday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. Tipoff time has yet to be announced.
Trailing by three points with 2:51 on the clock, UW-W closed the game on a 9-1 run, including seven straight points from freshman guard Kacie Carollo to close out the game.
Johanna Taylor started the run with a putback off a miss, and Carollo gave UW-Whitewater the lead for good with a 3-pointer at the 1:59 mark.
The two teams exchanged empty possessions before Carollo took a pass from Taylor, pump faked and finished the layup to make it 66-62 with 17 seconds to play. UW-W got another stop before Carollo knocked down a pair of free throws to send the team to its first appearance in the national semifinals since 2014.
Rebekah Schumacher knocked down six 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 22 points to go with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Aleah Grundahl totaled 14 points and four rebounds, while Carollo collected 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Taylor contributed with nine points, nine rebounds, six assists and three blocks, and Yssa Sto. Domingo recorded eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, but the Titans (22-7) held a 7-2 advantage with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Warhawks ended the period on a 6-0 run, including buckets from Grundahl and Sto. Domingo, for an 8-7 lead.
UW-Oshkosh heated up in the second, turning a 12-12 tie two minutes into the quarter into a 20-14 advantage with 3:40 on the clock. UWO’s lead grew to as may as eight in the quarter, but Schumacher’s layup in the final second brought UW-W to within six by halftime.
UW-Whitewater chipped away at the Titans’ lead early in the third, but UWO built its advantage back up to eight in the final minute of the quarter. The Warhawks took the momentum back on a 3-pointer by Sto. Domingo and a layup by Grundahl on their final two possessions of the period to draw within 50-47.
A 3-pointer by Schumacher tied the game at 52-52 with 7:42 remaining in the contest, and Grundahl’s free throws 40 seconds later gave UW-Whitewater the lead. The two teams traded baskets before the Titans tied the game on a 3-pointer just past the midway point of the fourth quarter.
UW-Oshkosh hit another 3-pointer two minutes later before the Warhawks staged their rally over the final 2 1/2 minutes.
[Attendance was 1225, only five more than on Friday night.]
More information on the university’s plans to celebrate the team’s run to the Final Four will be announced in the coming days.
