Women's Basketball Set To Host UW-Whitewater In WIAC Semifinals; Eagles Looking To Secure First WIAC Tournament Title

Women's Basketball | 2/24/2026 3:12:00 PM

La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team is set to host to UW-Whitewater on Wednesday, February 25th in the secound round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's).

THE BASICS

Game time: 7:00 pm
Location: Mitchell Hall, La Crosse, Wis.
Regular Season Match-ups: These two teams met twice during the regular season with each team winning on the road. UWL defeated UW-Whitewater 77-54 at Williams Center on January 14th while the Warhawks defeated the Eagles 64-47 on February 4th at Mitchell Hall.
Tournament Bracket/Seeds: The top six teams qualify for the WIAC tournament with the top two seeds earning a bye. UW-Oshkosh won the regular season title to earn the #1 seed while UW-La Crosse is the #2 seed.
- #3 UW-Whitewater defeated #6 UW-Stevens Point 67-61 at the Williams Center in Whitewater, Wis. Box Score
- #4 UW-River Falls defeated #5 UW-Platteville 42-40 at Page Arena in River Falls, Wis. Box Score
- #1 UW-Oshkosh will host #4 UW-River Falls while #2 UW-La Crosse will host #3 UW-Whitewater on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
- The semifinal winners advance to the WIAC Championship game Friday, February 27 at the highest remaining seed.
WIAC Tournament Champion: The winner of the WIAC Championship earns an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships.

FROM THE COURT

UW-Whitewater - 19-7 overall and 8-6 in the WIAC
- Offensively, the Warhawks are led by Mia Gillis who is averaging 12.7 points per game while Bri McCurdy is adding 9.2 ppg.
- Renee Rittmeyer and Gillis also lead the Warhawks in rebounding as they averaged 6.7 and 5.2 rebounds per game, respectively.
- McCurdy led the Warhawks in assists (2.85 per game) and in steals (2.38 per game).
- As a team, the Warhawks are averaging 63.9 ppg while their opponents score 54.8ppg.
- The Warhawks have shot 41.1% from the floor including 28.1% from the three-point line. UW-Whitewater is also shooting 69.4% from the free throw line.
UW-La Crosse - 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the WIAC
- All five starters for the Eagles contribute almost seven points per game each, led by Malia Nelson 10.0 ppg. Next for the Eagles is Grace Knupp (9.8 ppg) and Molly Janke (9.7 ppg) while Jenna Welsch is adding 8.0 ppg and Madisyn Kilboten is chipping in 6.9 ppg.
- Janke leads the Eagles in rebounding with 7.4 rpg while Nelson is pulling down 5.4 rpg.
- Nelson also leads the Eagles in assists with 2.58 apg while Knupp is averaging a team high 1.52 spg.
- As a team, UWL is averaging 63.8 ppg while their opponents score 59.4 ppg.The Eagles have shot 39.6% from the floor including 28.6% from behind the three-point line. UWL is also shooting 70.5% from the free throw line.

WIAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The 2026 WIAC Tournament marks the 27th year of the WIAC holding the conference tournament.
UWL is making its 22nd appearance in the tournament while UW-Whitewater is making its 27th appearance.
UWL is 9-21 all-time in the tournament while UW-Whitewater is 20-23. The Warhawks have won four WIAC Tournament titles while UWL has yet to win one.
This is the fourth match-up all-time between these two teams in the WIAC Tournament with UW-Whitewater leading the series 3-0.

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