1 1. Not a Q(uestion) about it – Quardell Young coast
–to –cost game winner against Williams to win National Championship 75-73.
Without a doubt, one of the
greatest finishes in perhaps Division 3 National Championship game history and
in UW-Whitewater Basketball history. The Warhawks led by 15 with 5:24 remaining
in the first half before Williams made their run to get back in it and it went
back and forth the rest of the way. Williams’ Michael Mayer tipped in a Duncan
Robinson miss with 4.9 seconds left before Quardell Young took the inbound pass
from KJ Evans coast-to-coast (and got fouled) with 0.9 seconds left to win
75-73 over Williams and win the program’s second National Championship in three
years. Young’s game winner was a top play on Sports Center that weekend. The
Warhawks had four players in double figures: KJ Evans with 22, Eric Bryson and
Quardell Young with 13, while Reggie Hearn had 10.
2 2. 18 point comeback against Cabrini to win program’s
third National Championship and first since 1989.
Down 18 with 14:43 to go in the
game, the Warhawks made the huge comeback to win their first National
Championship since 1989 (when head coach Pat Miller was a co-captain on the
team). They trailed 47-29 in the game made a 10-0 run in a three minute span
thanks to Quardell Young, Cody Odegaard, and Alex Merg to get them back in the game.
The Warhawks only allowed four baskets in the last 14:43 of the game. National
Players of Year Chris Davis tied it at 55, and later gave the Warhawks the lead
with a jumper. Davis had 12 in the game, Edmunds and Merg had 11, while Quardell
Young had 10. Davis won MVP honors in tournament while Pat Miller won Coach of
the Year honors.
3 3. Mary Merg two buzzer beater game in National
Semifinal against Amherst in 2013.
This game probably for the time
being will be the best game in UW-Whitewater Basketball history on the Women’s
side. The Warhawks were down by 12 with less than three minutes remaining in
the second half plus they hadn’t hit a single three for the first 37 plus
minutes of the game. They started hitting those threes and made the comeback
late as Mary Merg hit a desperation three at the regulation buzzer to force
overtime before hitting a floater at the overtime buzzer to win the game 64-62
and send the Warhawk Women to their first National Championship game
appearance. The two buzzer beaters were a top play on Sports Center that
weekend and almost beat out Javeon Clowney’s big hit from that year in a best
of the best contest on ESPN. Cortney Kumerow had a double-double of 19 points
and 10 rebounds. Lisa Palmer had 10 points and 10 rebounds as she also had a
double-double.
4. UW-Whitewater Women avenge National Championship
loss to reach Final Four in 2014.
DePauw came into this game as the
Defending National Champions as the Warhawks had lost to them the year before
in the National Championship game. The Warhawks were looking for revenge and
for another trip to a Final Four. The Warhawks led DePauw by two at the half
and outscored them by 15 in the second half to pull away and get the win. DePauw
had the lead in the game only once and
the biggest lead the Warhawks had in the game was 17. Volleyball player
turned basketball player Kristen Ruchti had a near double-double of 24 points
and nine rebounds. Mary Merg had 21 points and nine rebounds as well. The team
had three other players in double digits as both Kaitlyn Thill and Andrea Olsen
had 12, while Amy Mandrell had 10.
5 5. UW-Whitewater Women beat Hope to go to Final
Four in 2013.
Hope College came into this
particular game on this list ranked No. 2 in the country and they were looking
to host a Final Four in their own building. Safe to say, things didn’t go the
way the Flying Dutch hoped. The Warhawks had the lead the whole entire game and
led at 18 at one point. UW-Whitewater led by 12 at the half, and the closest
Hope College would ever get to the lead was 58-56 in the second half as the Warhawks got the 65-60 win to reach the
Final Four for the third time in program history. The Warhawks had four players
in double figures in this game as Courtney Kumerow had a double-double of 14
points and 10 rebounds. Mary Merg also had 14 points in this game, while
Kaitlyn Thill and Abbie Reeves had 10 apiece.
6 6. UW-Whitewater Men beat Emory at Stevens Point to
reach Final Four in 2014.
This game goes on here more because
it is cool that they cut down the nets at Stevens Point that year. Emory was
coming off an overtime win over UW-Stevens Point and led the Warhawks in this
game by one at the half. The Warhawks outscored Emory 49-25 in the second half
to reach their fourth Final Four in program history. KJ Evans and Quardell
Young were the only two Warhawks in double digits in the game. KJ Evans posted
a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Young scored 12 points.
7 7. UW-Whitewater Men punch ticket to Final Four in
2012
You have to put the game that sent
the Warhawks to the 2012 Final Four on this list. You look at the stats from
this game though. I mean throughout that 2012 NCAA Tournament run Chris Davis
(the 2012 National Player of the Year) had big numbers. In the win against
Virginia Wesleyan that sent them to the 2012 Final Four, he had a double-double
of 33 points and 11 rebounds. You add in Cody Odegaard had 17 in the game and
five threes.
8 8. Mary Merg sets All-time Scoring record in
Consolidation game in 2014
This game is on this list because it has some
historic meaning in terms of the record book for Women’s Basketball at
UW-Whitewater. In the second of the back to back Final Four appearances in 2012
and 2013, the Warhawks found themselves in the third place game after losing to
Whitman 85-70 the night before. Coming into the consolidation game against
Tufts, senior Mary Merg needed just 30 points to set the program’s all-time
scoring mark. With 36 seconds left in the game, Merg hit two free throws and
made history. Merg finished with 30 in the game, while Ruchti had a
double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.
9 9. Warhawks beat 2011 National Champion to advance
to second weekend of NCAA Tournament
The Warhawks had
four guys in double digits in this game: Cody Odegaard had 29, Alex Merg had
17, Chris Davis and Alex Edmunds had 11. The Warhawks outscored St. Thomas by
double digits in both halves.
10. Beating
a WIAC Rival in the NCAA Tournament – Warhawks beat UW-Oshkosh 69-57 in 2014
run to Final Four
Not often that
you play a conference rival in the NCAA tournament in Division 3. It doesn’t
happen often, and considering UW-Oshkosh has had sort of UW-Whitewater’s number
the last few years is why this is on this list. Both teams in the 2013-14
tournament coming into this game had only four losses. The weird thing about
this matchup of Rivals was it wasn’t in Wisconsin as it was in Greencastle,
Indiana. The Warhawks led at the half 24-20. The Warhawks and Titans played a
somewhat close game up until the Warhawks pushed it to seven midway through the
second and added to the lead from there. Mary Merg led the way with 23 points,
while Kristen Ruchti had 12, while current senior Reilly Stewart had 11.
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