By Blaze Fugina

Published February 12, 2010

UW-River Falls swept UW-Whitewater in both men’s and women’s basketball, including an upset of a ranked opponent in conference play Feb. 6 at the Karges Center.

The Falcon women defeated the UW-W Warhawks to take sole possession of second place, and the men won in overtime, defeating the number six ranked team in the nation. The women Falcons, who were a half game behind the Warhawks before the game, are now a half game ahead, with a 9-4 record in the conference. They are only a half game behind 9-3 Stevens Point.

The first half of the game was close, with a halftime score of 26-22 in favor of UWRF. Early in the second half, the Warhawks pulled within two points. However, the Falcons held on for a final score of 64-48.

Maranda Dohrn led the way for the Falcons with 18 points; Brittany Gregorich followed with 14. The Warhawks also had two players scoring in double digit points: Nicole Bundy with 15 and Cortney Kumerow with 10.

Coach Cindy Holbrook said that the team played together well, which led to the victory.

“It was a great basketball game,” she said. “The kids showed up.”

The win also helped the team’s chances for a bid in the NCAA tournament. The team is looking ahead to a chance at finishing on top of the WIAC.

“There is no reason we couldn’t finish on top,” Holbrook said. “We just need to take care of business.”

The players feel positive about the end of the season as well.

“We’re definitely going to the conference champ i o n s h i p , ” junior guard Tess Lardie said.

Junior Kelli Hilt also commented on what the end of the season could bring for the Falcons.

“We are peaking at the end of the season,” she said. “Hopefully we get an NCAA bid.”

Hilt also said that the next three games are key for the end of the season and an NCAA berth.

The Falcon men, who played after the women, defeated the sixth-ranked Warhawks in an overtime thriller, 68-67.

Before the game, the players walked on the court with their families in celebration of parents night.

The Falcons started out hot, with a 24-2 run to start out the game. The Warhawks rebounded, and the first half ended at 33-20.

The Warhawks caught the Falcons with 10 minutes left, and the second half ended with both teams tied at 63. The Falcons pulled out the game in overtime, with the Warhawks hitting only 50 percent of their free throws.

Three Falcons scored double digit points, Jontae Koonkaew led the team with 19 points, Wade Guerin had 16 and Jake Voeltz had 15.

Koonkaew said that the win was a good indicator of how the team could have played, and how the season could have looked very different.

“I have mixed feelings [tonight], we played outstanding,” he said. “We have underachieved. We went out and proved ourselves against one of the better teams in the conference.”

Both the men and women will play Feb. 13 at UW-Stevens Point, with each team only having three more games before the start of the conference tournament.