Waukesha's Schumacher Earns Spot on UW-Whitewater Basketball Team

From UW-Whitewater: Emily Schumacher, a native of Waukesha, WI, and graduate of Waukesha South High School, will compete for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team, which begins its 2017-18 season this Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in a non-conference game at Elmhurst (Ill.).

Schumacher, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in arts and communication.

With all five starters returning and several other contributors back with the team, the 2017-18 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team appears primed to contend for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship and a deep postseason run.

Coming off the program's first-ever WIAC Tournament title, the Warhawks are the preseason favorite of the conference's coaches and athletic communications personnel to win the league's regular season championship

UW-Whitewater is led by a senior trio that includes guards Malia Smith (Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley)and Brooke Trewyn (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) and forward Andrea Meinert (West Bend, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran), who is coming off a season-ending injury sustained midway through last season.

Other returning starters include junior forward Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) and sophomore guard Becky Raeder (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls). Freckmann scored 5.9 points per game and ranked second on the team with 6.9 rebounds per affair, while Raeder averaged 4.7 points per contest and shot 37.5 percent from 3-point range during her rookie campaign.

Junior center Becky Deichl (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) started 13 games last season, averaging 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while ranking 11th in the WIAC in both offensive rebounds (55). Sophomore forward Gilley Martinelli (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) also returns to the frontcourt rotation after appearing in 21 games a year ago.

Sophomore forward Morgan Rosencrants (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) also returns after playing in nine games last season.

The Warhawks' backcourt depth is bolstered by the return of junior Emily Kraft (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and sophomore Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland). Kraft appeared in 22 games in 2016-17, and Conley played in 28 contests, averaging 12.1 minutes per appearance.

Other returning guards include sophomores Nikki Foster (Janesville, Wis./Craig), Taylor McIlwraith(Mequon, Wis./Mequon Homestead), Auhea Simmons (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) and Juliette Vainisi (Prospect Heights, Ill./John Hersey).

Newcomers to the program include junior center Sarah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), sophomore guard Sydney Smith (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's), freshmen guards Adriana Green (Racine, Wis./Horlick), Emily Schumacher (Waukesha, Wis./South), Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater), freshmen forwards Kayla DeRosia (Racine, Wis./Horlick) and Nicole Elias (Rosemount, Minn./Rosemount) and freshman center Bailee Eggers (Marshall, Wis./Marshall).

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