Prospect Heights's Vainisi Part of WIAC Championship Team at UW-Whitewater

2017 Mar 2

Juliette Vainisi, a native of Prospect Heights, IL, and graduate of John Hersey High School, is a part of the 2016-17 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team, which won the program's first-ever Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship last week.

The Warhawks (22-5 overall) wrapped up the title Sunday afternoon with a 65-56 victory at No. 10 UW-Oshkosh in the title game at Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh.

With the championship, the Warhawks claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. This year's appearance will be the program's 16th in the national tournament and ninth in the last 10 years.

UW-Whitewater will face 18th-ranked Hope (Mich.) in the first round this Friday at 4 p.m. Central Time at Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. The winner of Friday's game will take on the winner of the No. 4 Thomas More/Eureka (Ill.) game in the second round Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Central Time.

In Sunday's championship game, junior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater/Whitewater) tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore forward Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) fouled out with 11 points and eight rebounds, and junior guard Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) posted 11 points. Sophomore center Becky Deichl (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) added nine points and seven rebounds.

The Warhawks held the Titans to 33.3 percent shooting for the contest, including 21.4 percent in the first half, and hit 23-of-34 from the free-throw line.

UW-Whitewater held UW-Oshkosh (24-3) to 27.8 percent from the floor in the first quarter and hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line to jump out to a 15-11 lead.

The Warhawks posted a dominant second quarter, outscoring the Titans 19-4 in the frame, to take a 34-15 lead into the locker room. UW-Whitewater started the quarter on a 16-1 run and didn't allow a made field goal until the 1:03 mark of the period.

The Warhawks continued to pour it on in the third quarter. Smith and senior guard Reilly Stewart (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 43-27 with 5:36 left in the period, and Trewyn's emphatic 3-point play gave the team a 31-point lead with 4:07 on the clock.

The Titans made things interesting in the fourth quarter, whittling their deficit all the way down to 12 before Smith drove the left lane line, scored and was fouled, converting the 3-point play to give UW-Whitewater a 58-43 advantage with 2:09 to play.

The Warhawks hit 10 free throws in the final quarter to hold on for the win.