Late Run Separates Titans From Green Knights

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team scored the final 11 points of the game and pulled away for a 62-48 victory over St. Norbert College on Saturday (Dec. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Titans held a 45-44 lead with six minutes remaining before closing the contest with a 17-4 run and holding the Green Knights scoreless for the last 2:37 of the game.

UW-Oshkosh (8-0), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, never trailed after tying the score at 21 with 5:25 to go in the second quarter. St. Norbert College led for just 69 seconds during the second period.

The Titans held the Green Knights to 28.8 percent (17-59) shooting from the field, including 26.7 percent (4-15) from 3-point range. UW-Oshkosh, which shot 38.8 percent (19-49) from the field and made 6 of 14 (.429) 3-point attempts, outrebounded St. Norbert College, 42-36.

Taylor Schmidt had a season-high 18 points and three steals for the Titans. She connected on 6 of 11 shots from the floor, including 2 of 3 attempts behind the 3-point line.

Emma Melotik matched her career high with 12 points for UW-Oshkosh, while Eliza Campbell chipped in 10 points and six rebounds and Ashley Neustifter nine points and seven boards. Melotik connected on three of her four attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.

UW-Oshkosh's Alex Richard and Marissa Selner both pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

The Titans raced out to an 11-4 lead on the second of two straight layups by Schmidt. A 3-pointer by Melotik increased UW-Oshkosh's lead to 16-6, but St. Norbert College cut its deficit to 17-9 after the first period.

The Green Knights scored the first eight points of the second period to knot the score at 17 with 7:43 left before halftime. St. Norbert College took its only lead on a jumper by Stephanie Weigman at the 6:34 mark, but UW-Oshkosh closed the half with a 12-5 run for a 31-26 lead at intermission.

St. Norbert College opened the third quarter with five straight points to forge the fifth tie of the contest at 31 apiece, but UW-Oshkosh tallied 11 of the next 14 points for a 42-34 advantage with 52 seconds to go.

The Green Knights closed to within 45-44 on a layup by Sarah Ratajczyk with six minutes remaining in the game. Melotik later nailed a 3-pointer to extend the Titan lead to 51-45 with just under three minutes to play. St. Norbert College answered with a three-point play by Brianna Byrne to pull within 51-48 with 2:37 left, but UW-Oshkosh held the Green Knights scoreless the rest of the way.

St. Norbert College (5-3) missed its last six field goal attempts, including four straight 3-pointers. UW-Oshkosh scored its final 11 points of the contest on 3-pointers by Morgan Kokta and Schmidt, a layup by Campbell and three free throws.

Regan Carmichael led the Green Knights with 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Jill Kleiman and Ratajczyk both chipped in nine points for St. Norbert College, while Weigman had eight points and eight rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh has now won 19 of the 32 meetings between the teams.

The Titans travel to Ripon College on Friday (Dec. 18).