Blue Devils Snap Titans' Winning Streaks

UW-Stout overcame a fourth-quarter scoring run from UW-Oshkosh and pulled away in the closing minutes for a 59-52 women's basketball decision on Saturday (Feb. 6) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh trailed, 45-33, entering the fourth period, but the Titans rallied to reclaim a 48-46 lead with 3:42 remaining. UW-Oshkosh rattled off 13 consecutive points, including six from Eliza Campbell and five from Marissa Selner, during a span of five minutes to take the lead.

Tied at 51 with just over two minutes to play, UW-Stout took the lead for good on a layup by Jenna Goldsmith, and the Blue Devils held UW-Oshkosh scoreless for the final 1:52 of the contest.

A jumper by Goldsmith increased the Blue Devil lead to 55-52 with 79 seconds left, and UW-Stout converted 4 of 6 attempts at the free throw line during the last 40 seconds. UW-Oshkosh missed its last four shots from the field and committed two turnovers in the last minute.

UW-Stout (9-12, 3-7 WIAC), which snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Titans, shot 45.1 percent (23-51) from the floor, including 55.6 percent (5-9) from 3-point range, and held advantages in rebounds (33-31), assists (11-8), blocks (7-2) and steals (9-8).

Goldsmith led the Blue Devils with 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

Kyncaid Diedrich chipped in nine points off the UW-Stout bench, while Kyleigh Hebert and Anna Brown contributed seven apiece.

UW-Oshkosh (17-4, 8-2 WIAC), ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, had its eight-game winning streak halted. The Titans lost for just the third time in the last 57 games in which they held their opponent to 60 points or fewer.

UW-Oshkosh fell into a first-place tie with UW-River Falls (17-4, 8-2 WIAC) atop the league standings with four games remaining.

Campbell led all players with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Titan made 7 of 19 shots from the floor and added two blocks in recording her second double-double of the season.

UW-Oshkosh scored the first points of the game on a layup by Taylor Schmidt, and the Titans maintained a lead for the first 14 minutes of the contest. Schmidt split a pair of free throws to extend UW-Oshkosh's advantage to 8-2.

Goldsmith converted a three-point play to trim the Blue Devil deficit to 9-7, but the Titans held UW-Stout off the scoreboard for the last 3:19 of the first quarter. A 3-pointer from the right corner by Madeline Staples at the buzzer gave UW-Oshkosh a 12-7 advantage after one quarter.

UW-Stout took its first lead at 18-17 on a layup by Brown with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. The Blue Devils then went on a 9-2 scoring run for a 27-21 lead following a 3-pointer by Nicole Schaub. UW-Oshkosh held UW-Stout scoreless for the last 3:38 of the second quarter, and a 3-pointer by Morgan Kokta cut the Titan deficit to 27-24 at intermission.

The Blue Devils maintained a lead throughout the third period, including a 40-31 advantage on a 3-pointer by Brown at the 4:38 mark. A jumper by Chloe Pustina cut UW-Stout's lead to 40-33, but UW-Oshkosh did not score another point during the final 4:05 of the third quarter. The Blue Devils held their largest advantage of 12 points at 45-33 on a long-range jumper by Sarah Schoch with 1:28 to play in the third period.

The Titans ended the game shooting 35.2 percent (19-54) from the field, including 21.1 percent (4-19) from behind the 3-point arc. UW-Oshkosh entered the game leading the country by connecting on 37.8 percent of its shots from long range.

Alex Richard added 10 points for UW-Oshkosh, while Selner contributed five points and eight rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Feb. 10). The Titans defeated the Blugolds, 65-53, on Jan. 27 in Oshkosh.