Warhawk women go 2 & 0 in New Orleans

 The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team cruised to two wins over the weekend at the Big Easy Challenge down in New Orleans.

The Hawks jumped out 13 to 2 lead over Milsaps Sunday afternoon on the way to 83-70 victory.

Milsaps closed out the first half on a 13-4 run to cut the UWW lead to 36-28 at halftime.

Milsaps pulled within six points at 47-41 with 13:08 left prior to grabbing control of the game by going on a 23 to 4 over the next five minutes to surge in front 66-47.  Whitewater's lead never dropped below double digits the rest of the way.

Kaitlyn Thill led both teams with 20 points, 17 coming in the second half. The junior out of Ozaukee high school finished the game 7-9 from the field, including 2-4 behind the arc and 4-5 at the free throw line.

Katie Burton added 16 points, Cortney Kumerow had 15, and freshman guard Abbie Reeves added 12 for UWW.

Lovie Love scored 14 for Millsaps

UW-Whitewater opened play in New Orleans on Friday with a 58-46 win over Millikin University.

The Warhawk defense forced 34 turnovers by the Big Blue, the second time this season UW-W's defense has recorded more than thirty turnovers in a game.  That translated to 26 points off turnovers.  Mary Merg led all scorers with 12 points.  Cortney Kumerow recorded a double double for the Warhawks, with ten points and a game high ten rebounds. 

Hawk men fall 66-55 at St. Norbert

 St. Norbert College parlayed it’s home court advantage to a 66-55 upset win over 6^th ranked UW-Whitewater in Sunday afternoon’s championship game of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament at the Schudes Sports Center in DePere.

St. Norbert led 22-21 at halftime. Whitewater started strong in the second half and led 27-22 on a Quardell Young layup early in the second half. The lead flip-flopped over the next four minutes with SNC taking one-point lead with 14:07 left in the game. The Green Knights would not relinquish the lead the rest of the game.

An 11-4 run for SNC gave them a 46-39 cushion with 9:09 remaining. The Green Knights pushed the gap to 55-45 with 6:04 left.

Patrick Souther cut the lead to nine (55-46) by making one of two free throws with 5:36 remaining in the game. The Hawks would not score again until Darnell Harris hit a three point bucket with 2:02 left pulling Whitewater within eight. That is as close as UWW would get.

The Warhawks shot just 41% for the game and turned the ball over a season-high 18 times while forcing a season-low 10 turnovers.

Quardell Young was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, going 8-11 from the floor, while also leading both teams with four steals.  Knoble, with ten points, was the only other Warhawk in double figures. 

Brandon Gries led four Green Knights in double figures with 17 points as SNC ups its season mark to 7 & 3.

The loss drops the Warhawks to 9 & 1. Next up for the Hawks will host Cardinal Stritch College, 15-1, Wednesday, January 2 at 7:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center. 

Warhawk men defeat Northwestern (Minn) at St. Norbert Holiday Tournament

 The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team advanced to Sunday’s championship game of the St. Norbert Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament by defeating Northwestern College (Minn) 71-61 at the Schuldes Sports Center in DePere.

Whitewater rallied from a 34-20 halftime deficit outscoring the Eagles 42-27 in the second half.

The Warhawks followed a familiar formula to pick up the team’s 9^th win in 10 games.  Luke Knoble led four Hawks in double figures with 14 points. Reggie Hearn finished with 13, Quardell Young 12, and K.J. Evans with 11.  Darnell Harris and Alex Merg chipped in with 9 and 8 points respectively.

Merg, who led the Warhawks with 37 minutes of playing time, led Whitewater with a career-high 11 rebounds. UWW won the battle of the boards by a 42-32 margin.

Whitewater turned the ball over 10 times compared to 15 for Northwestern a team they defeated 83-68 in the opening round of last spring’s NCAA Division III national tournament at Kachel Gymnasium.

Tom Gisler, Wade Chitwood, and Matt Watnemo each scored 12 points for the Crusaders.

Warhawk men roll to 73-48 win at Edgewood College

With a 10-day layoff for final exams behind them, the UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team made quick work of Edgewood College Saturday night at the Edgedome in Madison

The Warhawks  jumped out to a 17-4 advantage and never looked back on the way to a 75-48 win over the Crusaders in non-conference action.

Luke Knoble paced UWW’s attack scoring the game’s first seven points on the way to a game-high 17 points – 15 in the first half. The Hawks shot 62% in the first half and 51% for the game.

Eric Bryson finished with 13 points. Quardell Young chipped in with 9 and Darnell Harris 8 for the Warhawks. Whitewater hit 6 of 15 from outside the arc.

11 Hawks scored in the game as Whitewater raises its record to 8 & 1 on the season. Edgewood falls to 2 & 9 and 0 & 4 vs. the WIAC.

UW-W will travel to DePere for a tournament hosted by Saint Norbert College December 29-30.  The Warhawks will face Northwestern College (MN), a team they beat 83-68 in the first round of the NCAA III Tournament last year, at 5:00.  The next night UW-W will face either Marian College or host Saint Norbert, game time 5:00 or 7:00

Alex Merg battling through injury this season

 

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team has shown quality depth this season showcased by four starters off last year’s NCAA Division III national championship team.  Eric Bryson, Luke Knoble, Cody Odegard, Alex Merg and sixth man, Quardell Young bring plenty of on-court experience for this year’s squad.

Young, Bryson, and Knoble are all averaging in double figures with Odegard just short of double digits.

Alex Merg has been slowed by injury all season and has seen his minutes limited to micro fractures in both shins.

The junior out of Greendale was limited to 6 to 11 minutes a game earlier in the season but has played 20 minutes in each of the Hawks last two games vs. Eau Claire and Stevens Point.

Last year as a starter, Merg finished fourth in the conference averaging 4.16 assists per game and sixth in the WIAC with 41 steals. Merg’s assist to turnover ratio was second best in the league last season.

Merg is faced with playing with pain something he must deal with for the rest of the season.  He is iced down with ice bags on both shins shortly after his playing time is concluded each game.

It takes a special brand of player to deal with such an injury.  Merg is that type of player.

Merg’s game centers around hustle, tenacity and at times reckless abandon especially on the defensive end. 

He might be playing hurt this season with minutes limited but that same tenacity is still apparent and will be a key reason the Warhawks are planning on being in the championship hunt in the WIAC again this season.

Voice Box commentary from Tom "Voice" Pattison

Hi everybody – Tom “Voice” Pattison here with the first installment of my “Voice Box” Commentary.

Former Warhawk men’s basketball coach Dave “Auggie” Vander Meulen told me early in my stint as the “radio voice of Warhawk basketball” that the key to a successful season is to play it “a game at a time.” No peaks and valleys. A game vs. Stevens Point or Platteville is no bigger than a game at Superior.

I remembered that advice in the final minutes of last night’s 72-61 loss to WIAC archrival UW-Stevens Point.

Admittedly the Hawks first loss of the season gives Point an early “leg up” in the conference race but it is a long season.

To the 1581 fans that were at Kachel Gym, and for those watching the game on UWW TV or listening to Gary Douglas on KOOL 106.5 remember the Hawk are still in the process of developing team chemistry, something that Coach Miller indicated would take some time.

I’ve been watching this team both in practice and during games and I see a very special team developing.  Wednesday night’s loss to Point is just part of that process.  I’m sure Coach Miller and Coach Chapman will take the positives from the game and coach the boys up and look forward – not back in preparation for its December 22^nd game at Madison Edgewood.

On a more upbeat topic… Congratulations to Coach Keri Carollo and her Warhawk women’s basketball team at getting 58-55 win over Stevens Point at perhaps the toughest venue for visiting teams to win – Berg Gymnasium.

The Hawks sit on top of the WIAC standing with a 4 & 0 mark and are coming off a week in which the Warhawks beat both Eau Claire and Stevens Point – I call that “one heck of a week.”

The Hawk women now head to Holland, Michigan to participate in the Hope College Post Exam Slam. The 16^th ranked Warhawks will play Kalamazoo College Friday afternoon at 4:30 CST. On Saturday No. 6 Hope and No. 16 Whitewater will square off in a high profile non-conference showdown.

On a personal note… I’ve now spent 25 years covering UW-Whitewater basketball. Its been my job and the adrenaline rush on game-days is a great feeling.  During my current battle with cancer I still get that rush and look so forward to getting the story to my readers.  Earlier yesterday I spent three hours receiving my bi-weekly chemotherapy treatment.  It has been a challenge for me to keep my energy up sitting on press row during games – particularly those Saturday doubleheaders.  While it has been taxing on me physically I have no plans to limit my work putting a face on Warhawk basketball for my loyal readers. ITS MY JOB!

Coach Miller: "It was a disappointing, flat effort"

UW-Whitewater head coach Pat Miller knew his team would have to play at a high level to beat WIAC rival Stevens Point last night at Kachel Gym.  In retrospect the Warhawks got away from its “team concept” approach as Point dominated the second half on the way to a convincing 72-61 win in a battle of unbeaten teams.

“It was just a selfish effort on our part,” Miller told reporters after the game

The Hawks trailed by just two points at halftime and after Point’s Preseason All-American Tyler Tillema suffered a game-ending high ankle sprain late in the half many of the 15-hundred plus at Kachel Gym had thoughts or an impending strong second half for the defending NCAA Division III champions.

It didn’t happen as the Pointers outscored the Hawks by a 42-33 margin.

“I thought it was a selfish effort on our part,” Coach Miller indicated following the game. . We talked a lot about having to run our offense side to side against a good defensive team like Steven Point to create opportunities and we settled for what was easy and that was take quick perimeter shots and we obviously didn’t make them.

The Warhawks also struggled big time from the free throw line making just 8 of 19.  According to Miller scoring points when the clock’s stopped is imperative if you expect to beat a team like Stevens Point.

“We just get anything going tonight,” Miller commented. “Their just wasn’t a lot of things we did well in order to create momentum or energy. It was just an extremely disappointing effort.

With finals week winding down Whitewater now gets nine days off prior to taking on Edgewood College in Madison on December 22^nd.  The Hawks return home for non-conference action vs. Cardinal Stritch on January 2 at Kachel Gym.

Warhawk women hold off Stevens Point 58-55

What a week for the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team. Keri Carollo’s krew knocked off Eau Claire last Saturday and went on the road and stunned UW-Stevens Point 58-55 at Berg Gym.

The Hawks started slow by not scoring in the first 2:26 of the game. The funk ended with Whitewater going on a 13 to 2 run to take a 13-4 lead with 12:36 left in the 1^st half. They would take a 30-24 lead into the locker room at half time.

Point opened the second half on fire, reeling off a 16-2 bulge that put UW-SP up 40-32 with 13:19 on the clock.  Senior center Cortney Kumerow's basket in the lane cut the lead to 42-41, and at the 7:52 mark junior guard Mary Merg tied the game with a fastbreak layup.  Katie Burton put UW-W in front 46-44, and the Warhawks' lead inched up to 57-48 on a layup by junior guard Kaitlyn Thill. 

Point made one final run. The Pointer’s Sam Barber hit a three with 0:41 left in the game to pull the Pointers within two, 57-55. 

Mary Merg sealed the deal for Whitewater by hitting 1 of 2 free throws to give the Warhawks the 58-55 victory.

Courtny Kumerow led the Hawks with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Katie Burton added 9 and 8 rebounds while Lisa Palmer chipped in with 8 points and 7 boards.

Point’s Myranda Tyler took game honors with 17 points. Senior guard Sam Barber added 10 points and nine boards for the Pointers.

With the win, Whitewater is takes over first place in the WIAC at 4 & 0 a game up on Superior. Point falls to 1 & 2 in the conference.

UW-Whitewater will participate in a tournament hosted by Hope College (MI) Friday and Saturday.  The Warhawks will face Kalamazoo College at 4:30 Friday and matchup with host Hope College at 2:00 Saturday.  The next home game for the Warhawks will be January 9 at 7:00 with UW-Platteville visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center.

Point hands Warhawks 72-61 loss at Kachel

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team faced an old nemesis Wednesday night as UW-Stevens Point came calling to Kachel Gymnasium and left with a dominating 72-61 win in front of 1520 fans.

The Pointers and Warhawks were tied 30-30 early in the second half. That’s when Point went on a 12-0 run. The Warhawks never got within 10 points the rest of the way.  

The Pointers won the game despite losing Tyler Tillema to an upper right ankle injury in the final minute of the first half. The Preseason All-American did not return.

On the ensuing possession Whitewater freshman Darnell Harris banged home a three-pointer to pull the Warhawks within two at 30-28 at halftime.

There were eleven lead changes and three ties in the first half. Despite the low score at the half, UW-W shot 57% from the floor and Point hit 54% of its shots.

Playing without its leading scorer, Point’s Trevor Haas scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half to key the Pointer’s second half domination. Austin Ryf matched Haas’ 18. Jordan Lutz added 11 for the unbeaten Pointers.

Whitewater was led by Eric Bryson's 15 points, with Darnell Harris contributing ten.  Sophomore guard Quardell Young led both teams with eight assists.

Whitewater is now 7-1 and 3-1 in league play. UW-SP remains unbeaten at 8-0 overall and 3-0 in the WIAC.

The Warhawk men will face Edgewood College in Madison on Saturday, December 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Whitewater men to host Stevens Point in 1st place showdown

 

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team hosts UW-Stevens Point Wednesday night at Kachel Gymnasium. Whitewater enters the game ranked No. 2 in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll while Point is ranked No. 6. It will be the highlight game of the night in Division III.

Over the past eight seasons Whitewater and Stevens Point have each won 4 WIAC regular season championships. The winner of Wednesday night’s early-season conference showdown will earn an important “step-up” in the race for the 2012/13 WIAC regular season title.

Whitewater, the defending NCAA Division III national champions feature an extremely balanced offense and tenacious defense on its way to seven straight victories.

The Warhawks and Pointers lead the WIAC offensively averaging 75 ½ points per game.

Whitewater has five players averaging in double figures. (Quardell Young-12.4, K.J. Evans-11.6, Luke Knoble-12.6, Darnell Harris-10.6, Eric Bryson-10.4). Cody Odegard is averaging 8.7 points per game.

"That's what we're going to need with this team,” Hawk head coach Pat Miller said. “We're going to need different guys every night to step up."

In seven games, UW-Whitewater (7-0 overall, 3-0) has had five different leading scorers.

Defensively, both Point and the Warhawks are giving up 63.6 points per game.

The Warhawks will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak vs. the Pointers and 11 of the last 13 match-ups.

Wednesday’s tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium in UWW’s William’s Center where the Hawks are averaging 1100 fans in each of Whitewater’s first home games this season.

Warhawk men physically dominate UWEC in 79-65 win

KJ Evans photo courtesy of Josh Smith, Daily Jefferson County Union

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team played a dominating game inside the paint on the way to a 79-65 win over UW-Eau Claire Saturday afternoon at Kachel Gymnasium.

K.J. Evans led the way with a 21 point, 11 rebound performance that brought back memories of the great Aubrey Lewis-Beyers.

The sophomore out of Beloit took “the rock” to the hole repeatedly and much like Lewis-Beyers ended up at the free throw line. Evans hit 9 of 12 free throws in the game. 

How dominating was Whitewater inside of the paint?  The Hawks outrebounded the Blugolds 44-28 including 26 offensive boards leading to 31 UWW points. 9 of those 26 O-boards belonged to Evans.

For the fourth time this season UW-W forced at least twenty turnovers by an opponent, with Eau Claire turning the ball over 23 times.  Whitewater also took advantage of free throw opportunities, hitting 29-38 --- both season highs, while Eau Claire made 6-8 charity tosses.

Cody Odegaard finished with 14, Eric Bryson and Alex Merg added 11 points each.  Quardell Young chipped in with four steals and four assists. 

Eau  Claire was led by Jordan Peterson’s 17 points. Lewis Mau added 15 for the Blugolds.

The Hawks are now 7 & 0 on the season and 2 & 0 in the WIAC.

Next up a first place showdown with UW-Stevens Point Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.

Warhawk women outscore Eau Claire 80-72

 

Cortney Kumerow photo courtesy of  Daily Jefferson County Union

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team fought off the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds 80 to 72 Saturday night at Kachel Gymnasium.

While Cortney Kumerow was dominating inside, it was freshman, Abbie Reeves that gave the Warhawks some breathing room five minutes into the second half.

With the game tied at 47 Reeves hit back-to-back-back three pointers on three consecutive trips down the floor to give the Hawks a 56-47 advantage. Whitewater would not give up the lead the rest of the night.

The freshman from Westosha Central High School finished with a career, high 15 points, 13 coming in the second half. Reeves finished the game 3 of 5 from behind the arc and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

Kumerow dominated in a see-saw first half that included seven lead changes.  The senior from Elgin, Illiois scored 14 points and pulled down 5 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Kumerow finished the game with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman forward Lisa Palmer continued her strong play by tallying 10 points. Mary Merg added 9 points and Kaitlin Thill 8 points along with 9 steals and 5 assists as the Hawks go to 2 & 0 in the WIAC.

The Warhawk defense forced 28 turnovers and posted 18 steals in the game. UW-W missed just two free throws in the contest, shooting 91% (19-21).

UWEC put three players in double figures with Lisa Rempert and Courtney Lewis leading the way with 19 points each.

Wednesday night the Hawks travel to Stevens Point as two nationally ranked teams collide in an early season showdown for first place in the WIAC.

Voice's cancer fight -NEVER GIVE UP

I’d like thank all of you that have inquired the past few days on my progress in my battle with cancer. I’m still six weeks away from getting my next C-Scan which will reveal how much my tumor has been affected by my current round of chemotherapy. I won’t know the answer for another six weeks.

This is Jimmy V week on ESPN and as a cancer patient, watching video of Jimmy V saying “don’t ever give up” has hit me deeply in my effort to keep a positive attitude while fighting this terrible disease.

I want to thank to UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s basketball programs for allowing me to blog about their teams this season.

Blogging is some of the best therapy I can have in keeping my thoughts positive while battling cancer. 

To be able to write about the teams and players and interview the players allow me to put “a face” for the public about these guys and gals.  They are very talented and deserve the social media exposure.

Its on the days during my chemo treatments that I am able to spend my day writing – it is a major reason why I can stay positive.

To the many of you, including the many Warhawk football and basketball players that I write about, come up to me to ask “how are you doing in your fight.”  I can’t tell you how much that means to me. Thank you!

To all that are reading this column – thank you for taking the time to read about Warhawk basketball. As in the game of basketball, the goal is to win the game. It is the same goal that I have in my game right now – the game of fighting cancer.

The above photo taken at last spring's NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Final Four remind me everyday to never, ever give up!

GO WARHAWKS!

Hawk women never trail in 77-55 win over UWL

Mary Merg vs. UW-La Crosse (12/5/12)

Lisa Palmer vs UW-La Crosse (12/5/12)

The UW-Whitewater women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on the way to a 77-55 win over UW-La Crosse in Kachel Gym at Williams Center.

Whitewater scored the first two buckets of the game and never trailed the rest of the way. Whitewater went on a 7-0 run to take a 20 to 7 lead wit 13:24 remaining in the first half and extended the advantage to 41-23 at halftime.

The Warhawks shot 47% from the floor compared to 37% for the Eagles in the first 20 minutes. UW-W forced 14 turnovers while committing just six.

The Warhawk lead dipped below 15 points just once in the second half.

All five starters for the Warhawks scored in double figures led by Mary Merg's 15. Lisa Palmer added 13 on 6-9 shooting, followed by Courtney Kumerow's 12,  Kaitlin Thill finished with 11 and Katie Burton with 10. Palmer tied for game high honors with seven rebounds.

The Hawks raise their record to 5 & 2, 2 & 0 in the WIAC

The Hawks will host UW-Eau Claire on Saturday as part of a men’s – women’s doubleheader. Tip-off will be approximately 5 p.m. at Kachel Gym.

Warhawks roll over unbeaten La Crosse

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team raised its record to 6 & 0 Wednesday night by knocking off unbeaten UW-La Crosse 64-52 at Mitchell Hall.

The Warhawks dominated the second half after taking a 33-29 lead into halftime.

The Hawks were aggressive and opportunistic forcing 16 turnovers including 11 steals. Whitewater also outrebounded the Eagles by a 40-28 margin.

“I think we’re able to wear teams down by being physical, athletic and deep,” Warhawks coach Pat Miller said. “We pride ourselves on the last five minutes.”
Whitewater pushed its lead to 14 points with 8:47 left and put the game away at the free-throw line over the final 1½ minutes to “seal the deal.”

As has been the case all season, Whitewater used balanced scoring as a key to the early season win.

Luke Knoble led the way with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Quardell Young finished with 11.  Darnell Harris added 9 points and 7 rebounds Eric Bryson finished with 8 points and seven boards, K.J. Evans 8 points and 6 rebounds. Cody Odegard tacked on 7 points while Reggie Hearn pulled down 7 rebounds in just 14 minutes of playing time.

Jeff Heiden led three Eagles in double figures with 17 points.

As the statistics reflect the Warhawks dominated the paint by outscoring La Crosse 22-8 in the lane including 14 second chance points.

The Hawks, now 6-0 on the season, return home for the first time since opening night. The Hawks will play UW-Eau Claire as part of a men’s – women’s doubleheader.

Tipoff for the men’s game will be 3:05 at Kachel Gymnasium

Hawk men up to No. 2 in D3hoops.com Top 25

In-season national rankings bring additional recognition to a college’s athletic program. Ask any player or coach and they would tell you that ending the season with the Division III national championship trophy is the ultimate award. 
 

With that said, the UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team has jumped to No. 2 in this week’s D3hoops.com Top 25 weekly ranking. 
 

The Hawks garnered 10 first place votes and jump from No.3 to No. 2 in the national Website’s weekly national poll.  

 

The Warhawks garnered 601 votes compared to new No. 1 Virginia Wesleyan’s 611 votes along with 13 first place votes. 
 

Prevously No. 1 MIT lost one game last week and are now ranked  No. 11. 
 

UW-Stevens Point jumps up two spots to No. 7 this week. 
 

UW-La Crosse, UW-Stout and UW-Plattteville are all “receiving votes” in this week.’s poll. 
 

Whitewater travels to UW-La Crosse Wednesday night for an intriguing early conference season match-up.

 

Balanced attack has UWW men off to solid start

The Warhawk’s are off to a 5 & 0 start to the season and one of the keys has been different players “stepping up” each game. 

Through five games Whitewater has five players scoring in double figures.  Quardell Young leads the way at 14 points per game. Darnell Harris is averaging 12. Luke Knobel and Eric Bryson each are at 10.8 points and game. K.J. Evans rounds out the double digit scoring at 10.4 points per game. Cody Odegard is averaging 8 points. 

K.J. Evans and Eric Bryson led the way in UWW’s conference opening win at UW-Stout on Saturday. Evans finished with 13 points including 12 of his 13 in the final four minutes of the game.  Bryson finished with 12 points. 

All five of the double digit scorers have led the Hawks in scoring at least one game.

As a team Whitewater is hitting 50.3 percent of it’s field goal attempts. 

Next up will be a trip to La Crosse on Wednesday to take on unbeaten UW-La Crosse.  The Eagles are 6 & 0 and off to its best start since 1997-98. 

The Eagles, led by three with 20 points or more, rolled to an 84-69 win in its WIAC opener last Saturday at UWEC.

Hawk women roll to win over Stout

 

 

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team opened the WIAC portion of its schedule with a solid 72-53 win at UW-Stout Saturday evening.   

Courtney Kumerow led all players with 18 points on 7-13 from the floor registering a double-double with ten boards. Freshman forward Lisa Palmer  and Sam Quandt added ten a piece for Warhawks.

Whitney Rowdon led Stout with 16 points. 

Whitewater led 38-31 at halftime but came out and outscored the Blue Devils 14 to 1 the first nine minutes of the second half to take a commanding 52-32 lead. 

Whitewater shot 45% from the field (28-62) while holding Stout to 17-49 (35%) from the floor. The Warhawks held a 43-26 rebounding advantage and forced 26 turnovers in the game. 

The Warhawks will host UW-La Crosse in another WIAC match-up Wednesday, December 5. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m

Hawk men get 64-58 road win at Stout

 

There is an old, proven true adage in the WIAC. The adage simply states that any road win in the WIAC is a great win.  

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team dominated the final five minutes vs. UW-Stout to hand the unbeaten Blue Devils a 64-58 defeat - Stout’s first loss of the season. 

Trailing 45-42 with just over five minutes remaining, Luke Knobel got a steal and ensuing short shot to pull the Hawks within one with 5:02 left.  The play seemingly gave Whitewater a burst of energy. 

Hawks’ forward took the game over by scoring 12 of his game-high 13 points in the final four minutes and 6 points in the final 15 seconds. 

With Whitewater leading by a scant 58-56 margin, Evans hit a baseline jumper from the deep corner. The Beloit native ended up in the first row of the bleachers as he was fouled on the play. He hit the free throw to give Whitewater a 62-56 lead with 15 seconds left. 

A driving lay-in by Stout’s Keith Rash cut the UWW lead to four with eight seconds remaining. 

Evans was fouled on the inbounds and applied the “dagger” by hitting both free throws. 

Evans led UW-W with 13 points and Eric Bryson 12.  Darnell Harris led the Warhawks with seven rebounds and sophomore guard Quardell Young dished out a game high six assists. Stout was led by Rash and Keith Oman with 14 apiece.  Blue Devil senior guard Chris Hortman, who came into the game averaging 14.8 points, was held to three points on 1-5 shooting. 

The Hawks won the game from the free throw line hitting 20 of 25 free throws including 17 of 20 in the second half.  Stout finished the game 12 of 21 from the line. 

Whitewater handed Stout its first loss of the season. Whitewater is now 5 & 0 and will play at UW-La Crosse on Wednesday.

 

Unbeatens Stout and Whitewater to open WIAC Saturday in Menomonie

Don't expect a cakewalk for the unbeaten UW-Whitewater men's basketball team when it opens the conference season this afternoon at UW-Stout.


The Blue Devils enter the game with a 6 & 0 mark and one of four teams to enter the .
Stout closed out its pre-conference schedule with a 64-45 win over Luther College Wednesday night in Menomonie. Chris Hortman scored 19 off the bench t[o propel the Blue Devils to the win. Alex Oman chipped in with 11 points and Keith Rash added 10 for the Blue Devils.ference season unbeaten.

Hortman has been impressive so far this season as the Blue Devils' 6th man. He has two 20-point performances and another with 19 points. He enters today's game averaging 14.8 points per game.


The undefeated Blue Devils are off to their best start in 11 years. The six consecutive wins are the most since 2000-01. Stout has won half their games by at least 30 points and the average margin of victory is 22 points.


This past Tuesday the Warhawks defeated seventh-ranked Iliinois Wesleyan 71-65 in Bloomington, Illinois. 25 forced turnnovers and 32 points by freshman forward Darrell Harris keyed the win for Whitewater.  Luke Knobel added 18 and Quardell Young 10 with seven assists to lead the Hawks to a fourth consecutive victory.


Unbeaten Whitewater at unbeaten UW-Stout. Tip-off this afternoon is set for 4:05 p.m. - part of a men's-women's doublheader. The women's game will tip-off approximately  6:30 p.m.


Both games will be broadcast on KOOL 106.5.

Women's team deals with loss of former teammate

A college basketball season is filled with highs and lows. The lowest of lows took place for the UW-Whitewater women's basketball team last weekend.

Alex Scarbro, a former UW-Whitewater student and women's basketball player, passed away suddenly last Saturday. The native of Grayslake, Illinois was a member of last year's UWW women's basketball team but left school once the season was over.

"It's tough to lose anybody when they're young and have so much life left to live," Warhawk women's coach Keri Carollo said. "She was a really special kid. The short amount of time that she was with us she lived life to the fullest. She was a great friend and a really good teammate."

Carollo said the team gave Scarbro's uniform to her father Dave. She was buried wearing the uniform.

According to Carollo, the team will wear a patch with the number 32 for the remainder of the season - it was Alex's number.

To read a Royal Purple article on the tragic death of Scarbro CLICK HERE

Strong defense, balanced offense key to 4 & 0 mark

Adjacent photo courtesy of Royal Purple

The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team takes a 4 & 0 record to Menomonie on Saturday and defense has been the key to the Hawks’ unbeaten record.

One statistic prominently shows the Hawks defensive effort.  Whitewater has forced 91 turnovers through four games while committing just 51.  Opponents have turned the ball over at least 20 times each game (22 vs. Beloit, 29 vs. Aurora, 15 vs. Carthage, 25 vs. Illinois Wesleyan)

Whitewater has 34 steals through four games compared to 18 for opponents.

The Hawks have also made more free throws (68) than their opponents have attempted (61).

The Warhawks lead the WIAC in field goal percentage at 53.7% and 43.1% from three-point territory

Scoring balance has also been evident. In each of the four wins Whitewater has had at least three players in double figures including six in the win over Aurora.

Quardell Young leads the way averaging 15.8 points per game. Darnell Harris ranks second at 14.3 followed by Luke Knobel 11.5 and Eric Bryson at 10.5 points per game.  KJ Evans is averaging 9.8 and Cody Odegard 8 points.

It’s early in the season but the Hawks are following the same formula as last year’s run to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Darnell Harris "breaks out" for 32 vs. Illinois Wesleyan

Darrell Harris arrived at UW-Whitewater fresh off playing his senior year of high school basketball at an elite prep school in Humble, Texas.

Harris brought a high profile resume, plenty of ability and great potential with him to U-Du-Dub. The freshman forward flashed that great potential by pouring in 32 points in Whitewater’s 71-65 win at Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday night in a battle of two D3hoops.com Top 10 ranked teams.  

“We got Darnell going and he showed a little bit what he’s capable of doing,” Warhawk head coach Pat Miller indicated on the KOOL 106.5 post game show.  

The freshman finished the game 11 of 19 from the field including 6 of 8 from three-point territory. He also grabbed 6 rebounds. Harris' 32 points is the most by a Warhawk this season and the most since Chris Davis scored 33 in Whitewater's quarterfinal NCAA III tournament win over Virginia Wesleyan last March.  

“He had that look in his eyes and he was playing with confidence,” Miller said. “He was definitely our go-to guys” 

Though just a freshman, Darnell brings some of the same attributes to the table that Chris Davis did the past two years. Left alone, Harris is a deadly three-point shooter and isn’t afraid to pull the trigger. Still needing to get stronger, Darnell has shown steady improvement with his inside game through the Warhawks first four games this season. 

UW-Whitewater will open play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saturday, traveling to Menomonie to face UW-Stout for a 4:00 tipoff. UW-W's next home contest will be Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 with the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds visiting Kachel Gym.

Hawk men now 4 & 0 with 71-65 win at Illinois Wesleyan

The game matched two of the top ranked teams in Division III and the game lived up to it’s hype. The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team rode a 32 point performance by Darnell Harris on the way to a 71-65 victory over Illinois Weseyan at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

Harris, a freshman from Christian Life Academy Prep in Humble, Texas, hit 6 of 8 of his three point attempts in leading the Hawks to the high profile, non-conference win.

Luke Knoble also was red-hot by hitting 8 of 9 from the field for a season high 18 points.

Quardell Young chipped in with 11 points and a game-high 7 assists for the Warhawks.

UWW found itself down 8-0 to start the game. Whitewater eventually whittled the margin to 17-16 with 5:17 left in the half and found itself down 28-25 at halftime.

The Warhawks changed the complexion of the game in a hurry, outscoring IWU 14-2 to open the second half.

The Titans answered with a run of their own, 11-2, to knot the score at 41-41 in what was a “game of streaks.

Holding a slim 49-48 lead with 7:32 left, Whitewater used a 7-0 run to own some distance at 56-48 with 6:43 on the clock.  The Warhawks eventually increased the lead to eleven, 68-57, with just 1:10 left in the game.

The difference in the game was UWW being able to force IWU to turn the ball over. Whitewater forced 24 Titan turnover marking the third time in four games that the Hawks have forced at least 20 turnover.

Wesleyan had four players in double figures led by Victor Davis’ 13.

The third-ranked Warhawks stay on the road when they open conference play on Saturday at UW-Stout in a men’s-women’s doubleheader.

The men will kick off Saturday’s action with a 4 p.m. tipoff. 

To read Boomington Pentagraph game story CLICK HERE

Warhawk women fall 72-69 at Illinois Wesleyan

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team gave defending NCAA Division III champion Illinois Wesleyan all they could handle but fell short 72-69 in non-conference action Tuesday night in Bloomington, Illinois.

The Hawks led 35-30 at halftime. Wesleyan clawed back to tie the game at 47-47 at 11:12, largely on the back of junior center Lexi Baltes' eight points in the stretch. 

Following a UWW timeout the Hawks immediately went on an 8-0 run to reclaim a 55-47 lead.

The Warhawks could not hold the lead as the Titans made 16-19 charity tosses in the second half, compared to 5-7 for the Warhawks.  For the game, IWU was 22-27 from the line, Whitewater 7-10.

Kaitlien Thill took game scoring honors with 21 points, also dishing out eight assists to lead both teams.  Cortney Kumerow added 14 points, and Katie Burton chipped in with 12 along with a game leading eight rebounds.

Mellisa Gardner scored 19 to lead the way for the Titans. Lexi Baltes added 18, Colleen McMahon contributed 17 points as Wesleyan improved to 3 & 2 on the season.

The Warhawks fall to 3 & 2 and will open WIAC play on Saturday at UW-Stout as part of a men’s, women’s doubleheader. The  men will play at 4 p.m. with the women to follow at approximately 6 p.m.

To read Bloomington Pentagraph game story CLICK HERE

Warhawks to now play Tuesday men's-women's doubleheader at Illinois Wesleyan

 SPECIAL GAME NOTICE:  The UW-Whitewater women's basketball game at Illinois Wesleyan University originally set for Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 has been moved to Tuesday, November 27 at 5:15. The game will be played in the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois as part of a basketball doubleheader, with the Whitewater and IWU men tipping off at approximately 7:30. All four teams are ranked among the top ten in the D3hoops.com preseason poll

Mergs bring competitiveness to Warhawk basketball programs

(The adjacent photo is courtesy of the Royal Purple)

Tenacity, aggressiveness, and plain all-out hustle are attributes one desires in playing the game of basketball.

The brother and sister combination of Alex and Mary Merg bring those attributes to the UW-Whitewater men's and women's basketball programs.  The duo arrived on campus after successful high school careers at Greendale High School in suburban Milwaukee. 

Both were known for their competitiveness while growing up and that hasn't changed at Whitewater.

Both have similarities in their game. Growing up they would always practice together with their dad.  The similarities are most noticeable on the defensive side of the basketball. Both show incredible agressiveness and a ball-hawking ability.

Mary led the Warhawk women last year averaging 13.4 points per game and finished 3rd on the team with 53 steals.   Alex led the Hawk men with 129 assists and was second on the team with 41 steals. 

Why did the Merg's choose UW-Whitewater? "Alex was recruited to play basketball and he also was very interested in UWW's award winning Business School. It was also a good fit for his basketball," Alex's mom Jean said.

Graduating from Greendale High School a year later Mary also decided on attending U-Dub-Dub, but not because Alex was already there.  

 "I didn't choose Whitewater because my brother did," Mary said. "I chose it from an academic standpoint. They had my major and I knew the women's basketball program was really successful. It's just a plus that my brother is here too. 

For more on Mary and Alex Merg's story CLICK HERE

Nationally ranked Warhawk men and women at Illinois Wesleyan this week

The UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s basketball teams will be making the trek south on I-39 on Tuesday as both teams will take on nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan University.

SPECIAL GAME NOTE: The UW-Whitewater women's basketball game at Illinois Wesleyan University originally set for Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 has been moved to Tuesday, November 27 at 5:15. The game will be played in the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois as part of a basketball doubleheader, with the Whitewater and IWU men tipping off at approximately 7:30. All four teams are ranked among the top ten in the D3hoops.com preseason poll 

Pat Miller’s UWW men’s team, ranked No. 3 in the D3hoops.com national poll, will collide with the eighth ranked Titans. 

The 8^th ranked UW-Whitewater women collide with 5^th ranked Illinois Wesleyan. 

The Illinois Wesleyan men are 4 & 0 and coming off a 62-56 win at Wabash College. 

The Warhawks enter the game 3 & 0 coming off two wins at the Carthage Classic in Kenosha.  Whitewater rolled over Aurora 106-68 on Friday evening. The Hawks defeated host Carthage 74-69 Saturday afternoon.

The Titans will attempt to avenge a regular season 65-53 loss to the Warhawks last year in Whitewater.

“It will definitely be a step up in competition,” UWW head coach said following Saturday’s win at Carthage.

With the WIAC portion of the schedule coming up on Saturday at Stout the Hawks continue to improve.

“It was a good win against a good program,” Miller told Voiceseyeonbasketball.blogspot.com after the win over Carthage.  “It was a hostile environment – a tough place to play and it will help prepare us for Tuesday’s game at Illinois Wesleyan.”

Whitewater, the defending Division III national champions, enter Tuesday night’s game ranked No. 3 in the D3hoops.com preseason national rankings.

Tipoff Tuesday night at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois is set for aqpproximately 7:15 p.m.

You can listen to  boths game with Gary Douglas on the microphone on KOOL 106.5.

To listen to the game CLICK HERE

Hawk Women D-Feat Edgewood 83-39

How dominant was the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team’s win over Madison Edgewood Saturday evening? UW-Whitewater held an opponent under 40 points for the first time in twelve years, and forced 40 turnovers for the first time in more than two decades, in an 83-39 win over Edgewood College in Kachel Gym in Williams Center.

UW-W coach Keri Carollo used twenty-three players in the game and sixteen of them scored.

Merg led both teams with 21 points in 21 minutes of playing time.  The only other double figure scorer for Whitewater was senior center Cortney Kumerow with 12. Kaitlin Thill & Megan Theune each seven steals. Thill also finished with seven assists in the blowout win. . 

The last time a Whitewater opponent was held under 40 points was December 21, 1999 when the Warhawks defeated Muhlenberg College 58-37.  The 43 turnovers by Edgewood is the fourth highest total ever by a Warhawk opponent, and the most since UW-Stout had 51 December 9, 1989.

UW-W is 3-1, and Edgewood 0-4.

UW-Whitewater, eighth in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, will play at fifth ranked Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois Wednesday.  The Warhawks' next home game will be December 5 at 7:00 with UW-La Crosse visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center