St. Croix Falls’ Bri McCurdy and the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team won the WIAC tournament title and advanced to the NCAA tournament. – Courtesy photo
OSHKOSH – Bri McCurdy (St. Croix Falls) and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s basketball team avenged a loss to a conference rival then went on to win the WIAC Tournament and earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament last week.
The Warhawks opened the tournament with a win over UW-River Falls then defeated Raegan Sorensen (Unity) and UW-Stout in the semifinal before taking the title game over UW-Oshkosh to extend their season.
They outscored the Falcons 19-7 in the first quarter of a 66-52 win on Feb. 25 to start tournament play. McCurdy had 17 points, three assists and a steal for the Warhawks, who outscored UW-River Falls 27-9 from 3-point range; McCurdy helped that advantage with a 5-for-8 effort. McCurdy’s former teammate Olivia Miron (St. Croix Falls) had four points, a rebound, a block and an assist for the Falcons.
The Warhawks advanced to face UW-Stout on Thursday and despite a game-high 33 points from Sorensen, they finished with a 69-63 win. The Blue Devils held a 21-13 lead in the first quarter but the Warhawks went on a 10-0 run and eventually took a 31-30 lead into halftime.
The game was tied 57-57 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation and after the Warhawks took a 63-60 lead two minutes later, McCurdy scored their final six points of the game to seal the win.
McCurdy had 11 points, four steals, three rebounds and an assist while Sorensen added 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal to her point total.
Saturday, UW-Whitewater led by just three points with more than three minutes remaining in regulation but held the Titans to just six points over the remainder for a 64-61 win in the title game. McCurdy had three points, two assists and a rebound.
UW-Whitewater opens the NCAA tournament this Friday at home against Principia College and UW-Stout hosts Ripon this Friday.
Women’s basketball
• Lilly Johnson (Siren) and Gogebic had their season ended with an 85-62 loss to Dakota College-Bottineau in their postseason opener on Saturday.
Johnson had six points, nine rebounds, two assists and a block for the Samsons, who finished with an 11-12 overall record.
• Emily McCurdy (St. Croix Falls) and Viterbo had their postseason run cut short at one game with a 73-53 loss to Governors State on Feb. 26.
The V-Hawks were outscored 21-9 in the first quarter and trailed for the rest of the game. McCurdy had four points, three rebounds and three assists.
Viterbo finished with a 15-14 overall record.
Women’s hockey
Ellie Brice (St. Croix Falls) and UW-River Falls host UW-Eau Claire for the WIAC O’Brien Cup title game Saturday after defeating UW-Superior in two semifinal games last week.
The Falcons scored the first six goals of the game in an 8-1 win on Friday. Brice won 13 of the 19 faceoffs she was in. They secured a spot in the title game with a 6-0 win on Saturday, when Brice scored two goals and added an assist.
