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Women's Basketball

Ashley Neustifter scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, against the Yellowjackets.
Ashley Neustifter scored 10 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets, against the Yellowjackets.

Titans Oust Yellowjackets To Advance In NCAA Championship

Box Score Preview

Alex Richard had 13 points and nine rebounds as UW-Oshkosh defeated UW-Superior, 63-53, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday (March 4) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Titans, who have won 63 of their 69 meetings with the Yellowjackets, closed the second quarter with a 14-3 scoring run for a 35-25 lead at intermission. UW-Oshkosh maintained the advantage on the scoreboard for the last 25 minutes of the game.

UW-Oshkosh (23-5), which advanced to the second round of the 64-team national tournament for the third consecutive season, will face Wartburg College (Iowa) at 7 p.m. on Saturday (March 5). Wartburg College (20-7) moved to the second round with a 65-49 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College (20-8).

Richard converted 6 of 9 shots from the field and her lone free throw attempt. She added two assists and two steals.

Eliza Campbell and Ashley Neustifter had 10 points apiece for the Titans, who also received eight points and six rebounds from Marissa Selner. Taylor Schmidt rounded out the UW-Oshkosh starting lineup with seven points, five assists and five steals.

The Titans narrowly outshot UW-Superior, 42.3 percent (22-52) to 41.9 percent (18-43), from the floor. UW-Oshkosh knocked down seven 3-pointers and connected on 80 percent (12-15) of their free throws.

UW-Superior (24-4), making its NCAA postseason debut, employed a full-court trapping defense for much of the game and forced UW-Oshkosh into 17 turnovers. The Titans entered the contest ranked second in the nation by averaging 12 turnovers per contest.

UW-Oshkosh ended the game with advantages in rebounds (31-28), assists (16-7), turnovers (20-17) and steals (11-6).

UW-Superior forced a UW-Oshkosh turnover on the game's opening possession, and Yellowjacket Hailey Kontny converted a layup just 19 seconds into the contest.

The Titans took their first lead at 5-4 on a three-point play by Richard and capped a string of seven straight points on a layup by Neustifter for a 9-4 advantage.

Trailing 16-12 after the first quarter, UW-Superior cut its deficit to 19-18 on a jumper by Kontny. A pair of free throws by Sarah Lekson gave the Yellowjackets their final lead of the game at 22-21 with 6:11 left in the second period.

Campbell gave UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 23-22 with a layup at the 5:06 mark of the second quarter. The Titans scored the last seven points of the first half, including 3-pointers by Neustifter and Jaimee Pitt, for a 35-25 lead at intermission.

UW-Superior cut the UW-Oshkosh lead to four points at 45-41 after three quarters, but a 3-pointer by Schmidt pushed the Titan advantage back to 50-41 with 8:13 remaining.

UW-Oshkosh opened its largest lead of 13 points at 63-50 with 19 seconds to play.

Kontny led all players with 20 points for UW-Superior, which joined the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference this season after a 45-year affiliation with UW-Oshkosh's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Allie Nelson added eight points and two assists for the Yellowjackets, while Bailee Bartunek chipped in four points and a team-leading five rebounds.

2016 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Bracket