Titans Never Trail In Victory Over Red Hawks

Taylor Schmidt scored 14 points as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team defeated Ripon College, 75-45, on Friday (Dec. 16) in Albee Hall.

UW-Oshkosh, which improved its record to 7-0 for the third time in four years, entered the contest leading the NCAA Division III by allowing opponents to score just 34.7 points per game and shoot only 26.3 percent from the field.

The Titans, ranked ninth in the country by D3hoops.com, never trailed against the Red Hawks and held leads of 22-10 after one quarter, 35-23 at intermission and 53-33 entering the final period.

Ripon College narrowly outshot UW-Oshkosh, 38.8 (19-49) to 38.3 (23-60) percent from the field, and outrebounded the Titans, 35-34.

The Titans cruised to their seventh straight win over Ripon College by knocking down 85.7 percent (18-21) of their attempts from the free throw line and making a season-best 11 3-pointers on 25 shots from beyond the arc. It was UW-Oshkosh's most 3-pointers in the 93 games since connecting on 14 against Northland International University on Nov. 18, 2013.

UW-Oshkosh also held an 18-6 advantage in turnovers against Ripon College. The Titans have committed just 11 turnovers over their past two games.

All 17 Titans received playing time, including 14 who saw at least five minutes of action.

Schmidt made 5 of 9 shots from the floor, including 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line, while adding one assist and one block.

UW-Oshkosh's Eliza Campbell had 12 points with a team-leading six rebounds and two assists. Morgan Kokta tallied a season-high 10 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Titans, who also received a season-best eight points from Isabella Samuels, seven points from Kylie Moe, and six points, three rebounds and two steals from Madeline Staples.

Kokta drained a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the game, and UW-Oshkosh took the lead for good on another long-range jumper by Kokta for an 11-8 advantage with 5:37 left in the opening period.

Kokta's second 3-pointer sparked a 17-2 scoring run that stretched into the second quarter. Five Titans scored during the run that spanned more than six minutes as a 3-pointer by Staples provided UW-Oshkosh a 25-10 lead with 9:54 remaining before intermission.

UW-Oshkosh connected on 7 of 13 shots from the field during the 17-2 run while Ripon College missed 6 of 7 attempts from the floor and committed six turnovers.

A 3-pointer by Schmidt gave the Titans a 35-23 advantage with 44 seconds to go in the second quarter, and UW-Oshkosh held a lead of at least 12 points for the remainder of the game.

Campbell drilled a 3-pointer for a 53-31 UW-Oshkosh advantage with 60 seconds left in the third period, and Jaimee Pitt gave the Titans their largest lead of 30 points when her layup provided the game's final score with 70 seconds to play.

Ripon College's Maggie Oimoen led all players with 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field.

Emma McDonald chipped in seven points for the Red Hawks while Nicole Herkert had four points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and one steal.

UW-Oshkosh puts its unbeaten record on the line when it plays a pair of games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Titans will face DePauw University (Ind.) on Tuesday (Dec. 20) and John Carroll University (Ohio) on Wednesday (Dec. 21) during a trip that marks the program's first regular season competition held outside of the United States.