Second-Quarter Surge Lifts Titans Past Blugolds
Taylor Schmidt scored 16 of her team-leading 18 points in the second half as UW-Oshkosh defeated UW-Eau Claire, 65-53, in a women's basketball contest held Wednesday (Jan. 27) in Kolf Sports Center.
Schmidt made 5 of 10 shots from the field, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, and 6 of 7 free throws. She tallied 11 points, including both of her 3-point baskets, during the fourth quarter.
Ashley Neustifter added 11 points and five rebounds for the Titans, who also received 10 points from Eliza Campbell and six points and a game-high 10 boards from Marissa Selner.
UW-Oshkosh (15-3, 6-1 WIAC), ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, extended its winning streak to six games and remained in a first-place tie with 14th-ranked UW-Stevens Point (15-3, 6-1 WIAC) and 18th-ranked UW-River Falls (15-3, 6-1) at the midway point of the league schedule.
UW-Eau Claire outshot UW-Oshkosh, 44.7 percent (17-38) to 35.4 percent (23-65), but the Titans held advantages in rebounds (33-31), turnovers (18-8) and steals (9-6).
The Titans also connected on 9 of 21 attempts (42.9 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc and 10 of 11 (90.9 percent) shots from the foul line. UW-Oshkosh went into the game ranked fourth in the country by hitting 38 percent of its 3-point tries and sixth by committing an average of just 12.8 turnovers per contest.
The teams exchanged the lead six times in the first quarter, which ended on 3-pointer by Neustifter at the buzzer that trimmed UW-Eau Claire's lead to 12-11. Neustifter's long-range shot sparked a string of nine consecutive points that gave the Titans the lead for good.
Campbell hit a jumper on the Titans' first possession of the second period for a 13-12 advantage, and UW-Oshkosh never relinquished the lead for the last 29:20 of the game.
UW-Eau Claire was held scoreless for more than five minutes until Erin O'Toole's basket cut the UW-Oshkosh lead to 17-13 with 5:57 left in the second quarter. The Titans answered with a 7-1 scoring run that pushed their lead to 24-15 before Madison Johnson made a layup to cut the Blugolds' deficit to 24-17 at halftime.
UW-Eau Claire (8-10, 3-4 WIAC) committed six turnovers and shot just 2-for-8 from the floor during the second quarter.
The Blugolds pulled within 29-26 following five consecutive points by Teenie Lichtfuss, but Schmidt responded with five straight points of her own. A jumper by Morgan Kokta concluded a seven-point run in the span that pushed the Titan lead to 36-26 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Emma Melotik at the third-quarter horn gave UW-Oshkosh a 43-33 lead, but a layup by O'Toole made the score 48-44 with 4:48 remaining.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Schmidt and Campbell increased the UW-Oshkosh lead to 54-46 at the 3:58 mark before O'Toole answered with a basket on the ensuing possession.
UW-Oshkosh upped its advantage to 58-48 on consecutive jumpers by Selner and Neustifter. The Titans salted away the victory by converting 7 of 8 free throws during the final 52 seconds.
O'Toole led all players with 22 points and six blocks. She made all four of her shots from the field and 14 of 18 tosses from the charity stripe.
Lichtfuss added 17 points and three steals for the Blugolds. She hit all three of her 3-point attempts and ended the game shooting 7-for-10 from the floor.
UW-Eau Claire's Kayla Hanley contributed four points and team-high totals of seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Titan reserves outscored the Blugold bench, 16-0.
UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-Stevens Point on Saturday (Jan. 30). The Titans earned a 60-46 victory over the Pointers on Jan. 16 in Kolf Sports Center.