Lake County Gazette

Ashley Schlabowske, a Physical Education major from Grayslake, Illinois, will join the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team for the 2025-26 season.

The Warhawks are set to begin their season at home on Saturday, November 8. They are ranked 24th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III Preseason Poll and will face No. 19 Washington University in St. Louis at Kachel Gymnasium.

In a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, UW-Whitewater is predicted to finish second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) this year.

The team's early schedule includes six opponents who are either ranked or receiving votes in national polls before conference play begins. After their opener against WashU, UW-Whitewater will compete against No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan at a tournament in Bloomington. Other notable matchups include games against No. 21 Calvin, No. 15 East Texas Baptist, No. 16 Gustavus Adolphus, and Mary Hardin-Baylor.

UW-Whitewater's first WIAC game is scheduled for January 3 against No. 5 UW-Oshkosh. The conference schedule also features games against teams receiving preseason votes: UW-Stout and UW-La Crosse. In the second round of conference play, the Warhawks will face UW-Oshkosh on January 28, UW-La Crosse on February 4, and UW-Stout on February 7; the last of these will coincide with alumni day and a breast cancer awareness event.

Senior players will be recognized during the February 14 game against UW-Eau Claire. The regular season concludes with an away game at River Falls on February 21.

Last season, UW-Whitewater made its fourth consecutive appearance—and seventh under head coach Keri Carollo—in the Sweet 16. The team finished with a record of 24-7 overall and went 9-5 in conference play.

Carollo holds the most wins among active WIAC coaches with a record of 463-172 over her 23 seasons leading the program—a win percentage of 72.1 percent. She has led UWW to NCAA tournament participation sixteen times during her tenure.

Information from this story was sourced from MeritPages.com