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.