The No. 20 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team shot 50.8 percent from the floor and had four players score in double figures Wednesday night in a season-opening 75-64 victory at Elmhurst in a non-conference affair in Elmhurst, Ill.
 
The Warhawks (1-0 overall) outscored the Bluejays 17-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away in a tightly-contested game.
 
Senior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) led UW-Whitewater with a game-high 22 points, including 20 in the first half, to go along with a game-high 13 rebounds for her 10th career double-double.
 
Senior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) posted 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore guard Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) collected a career-high 16 points to go along with three steals, and sophomore guard Becky Raeder (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) contributed 11 points off the bench.
 
The Warhawks led by as many as five points in a high-scoring first quarter, but Elmhurst (0-1) tallied a 12-2 run to grab a 21-16 advantage with one minute to play in the frame. Raeder and Meinert converted layups on back-to-back possessions to close the deficit to one point by the end of the quarter.
 
The two teams traded the lead in the second quarter, and a free throw by Trewyn put UW-Whitewater ahead by five with two minutes to play in the half. The Bluejays knocked down a 3-pointer to close the Warhawks' lead to two heading into halftime.
 
The Warhawks took their largest lead of the game at 44-38 after a pair of free throws by Conley three minutes into the third. After Elmhurst forged the game's ninth tie with 1:37 on the clock, sophomore guard Nikki Foster (Janesville, Wis./Craig) converted a layup, and Conley closed the quarter with a jumper to make it 58-55.
 
UW-Whitewater built its lead to eight by the 7:29 mark of the fourth, and grabbed a double-digit lead two minutes later on a layup by Meinert.
 
A layup by Trewyn put the Warhawks ahead by 15 with 3:25 to go, and the team led by no fewer than nine points the rest of the way.
 
UW-Whitewater opens its 2017-18 home schedule Saturday at 4 p.m. against Beloit on Parents/Family Day at Kachel Gymnasium. The game is the first of a women's/men's doubleheader.
 
Post-Game Quotes
 
Head Coach Keri Carollo
 
On how the team built its lead in the fourth quarter:
"We stopped putting them at the free throw line and limited them to one shot (on offense). We sat down and started to play good defense, and that made the difference."
 
On the play of Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater):
"She's a tough matchup for teams who have smaller guards, so we tried to take advantage of that. We put her in the post a little bit. She's hard to guard and is creative with the ball. She lifted us. She had a lot of energy, and she really stepped up. As a senior, she wasn't going to be satisfied with a loss."
 
On the play of Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland), who had a career-high 16 points:
"She didn't start off the game great, but she hit some big shots in the second half. She was a big part of the reason we made that run in the fourth quarter. She hit a 3-pointer and some midrange shots. It was nice to see her find her range and get comfortable. She's hard to guard and is quick off the dribble. I'm happy and excited for her. Becky Raeder (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) did a great job off the bench scoring 11 points. I'm excited for those two."
 
Senior guard Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater)
 
On her play in the first half, when she scored 20 points:
"I guess they were giving me the lane and I took advantage of that. I wasn't really hitting from outside so I worked out of the post. The second half was a different story, but I'm glad we got the win."
 
On the team's ability to take control of the game in the fourth quarter:
"We finally put a couple of stops together and scored. They had a couple of fouls on the girls creating for them. Our defensive mentality was the difference in the fourth quarter."
 
Senior forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran):
 
On the team's fourth-quarter run:
"We knew that we could get the ball inside. We knew we had an advantage. Our guards exposed their guards on the perimeter, so we knew that's going to be a key to our team. We have more people to step up when other teams make adjustments. Having scorers on the outside opens up the inside because the defense has to respect their ability to shoot. That's all part of our offense, and we executed a couple times down the stretch, and that made the difference."
 
On the importance of securing a win over a quality opponent early in the season:
"We knew that they would give us a good game and be as hungry as we were for a win. We got to try a lot of people, who played a lot of minutes. It was good for them to get a feel. It was great to come out and get a win and still learn a lot of lessons along the way. We're ready to build off of this and get better as the season goes on."