WHITEWATER — Kacie Carollo’s career-high 33 points paced the NCAA Division III No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team to a 65-58 win over Wheaton (Ill.) Wednesday night.
The Warhawks capitalized on the pace of play, pushing the ball forward to outscore the Thunder, 22-4, on fast-break points. The free-throw line became pivotal late in the contest as UW-Whitewater made 20-of-25 in the contest compared to Wheaton’s 14-for-16 shooting from the line.
UW-Whitewater pushed the pace early, recording 10 fast-break points in the first 10 minutes to build a 20-14 lead after the first period. Carollo, a former Whitewater High School athlete, took over in the second quarter, scoring 12 of the Warhawks’ 16 points in the period. At the intermission, UW-Whitewater held a 36-29 advantageheading into the locker room.
The Thunder whittled away at the lead on the other side of the break eventually pulling to within two, 42-40. A basket by Renee Rittmeyer followed by a pair of Carollo free throws quickly pushed the margin back to 46-40, with 4:17 left in the third. Carollo added another free throw about a minute later before Wheaton capped the scoring in the period with a pair of free throws. Heading into the fourth, UWW held a 47-42 lead.
The Warhawks (7-1) scored the first four points of the fourth from the charity stripe — all four made by Katie Hildebrandt — to extend the gap to nine, 51-42. Over the next seven minutes, Wheaton cut into the margin eventually tying the game 56-56 at the 1:43 mark.
On the offensive end, Carollo knocked down one of the biggest triples of the game to put the Warhawks back on top. The Thunder countered with a step back jumper that dropped to narrow the lead to one and the Wheaton coach immediately signaled for a timeout. UW-Whitewater perfectly executed a play with Hildebrandt hitting a cutting Carollo perfectly in stride for the layup and another three-point Warhawk advantage with 29.4 seconds to go.
Wheaton forced up a three-pointer on their end and Bri McCurdy chased down the board drawing a foul in the process. She hit both free throws to add a cushion with 11.1 to go. Carollo came up with a big block on the defensive end before capping the game with the final two points of the contest on a pair of free throws for the seven-point win.
Carollo recorded a double-double with 33 points and 10 rebounds. She added three assists, three blocks and three steals in 39 minutes played. Hildebrandt added 13 bolstered by a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe while hauling in five boards. Rittmeyer was active on defense with five steals while dishing out three assists on the offensive end.
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