College basketball: Warhawks upset No. 7 WashU, capture McWilliams Classic title
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — It was a picture-perfect start to the 2026-27 season this weekend for the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team, as the Warhawks strung together back-to-back wins including an upset over No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis to come home as McWilliams Classic champions. The Warhawks (2-0) entered the weekend ranked 25th in the nation in the WBCA D3 Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25. After a successful trip down to St. Louis, it seems as though UWW is destined to jump up in both of those polls moving forward. UW-Whitewater opened its season, as well as the 2026 McWilliams Classic, with a statement 97-65 win over Benedictine University on Friday. A total of four Warhawk players finished as double-digit scorers, as Bri McCurdy (18 points), Mia Gillis (17 points), Brooke Stenklyft (15 points) and Lily Newton (14 points) helped pave the way for the Whitewater victory. Even more impressively, UWW as a team finished the game with a total 18 steals, as 12 different Warhawks tallied at least one steal in the blowout result. The Warhawks then faced a tall task in the McWilliams Classic championship game on Saturday, as UW-Whitwater squared off