Titans Win Defensive Battle With Royals

Taylor Schmidt recorded 14 points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team pulled away for a 54-46 victory over Bethel University (Minn.) on Friday (Dec. 30) in Wisconsin Dells.

UW-Oshkosh (10-1), ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, snapped Bethel University's eight-game winning streak by scoring 10 of the contest's last 13 points.

Bethel University (9-2), which entered the game ranked eighth in the nation with a .463 field goal percentage and 21st by averaging 77 points per contest, was held without a field goal for more than three minutes after cutting its deficit to 44-43 with 3:24 remaining. The Royals scored fewer than 50 points for just the second time in the past 96 games.

The Titans went into the game leading the country by yielding 39.3 points per contest while ranking seventh with a .293 opponent field goal percentage.

Both teams shot 35.6 percent (16-45) from the floor and 75 percent from the free throw line, as UW-Oshkosh made 18 of 24 attempts and Bethel University 9 of 12.

UW-Oshkosh also held slim advantages in rebounds (32-29), assists (7-6), steals (8-5) and turnovers (18-12).

Schmidt, who matched her season-high point total, connected on 2 of 5 shots from the field and 9 of 10 free throws on the way to her eighth double-digit scoring effort of the year.

Eliza Campbell added 13 points for the Titans, who also received nine points from Morgan Kokta, and seven points and a game-high eight rebounds from Alex Richard.

UW-Oshkosh scored the first six points of the contest before Bethel University tied the score at 13 with 100 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Royals took their first lead at 15-14, but UW-Oshkosh's Madeline Staples split a pair of free throws to even the score after one period.

The Titans reclaimed a 20-15 lead on a 3-pointer by Emma Melotik early in the second quarter, and a basket by Kokta extended their advantage to 25-19. The Royals pulled ahead 28-27 late in the period, but the Titans went into intermission with a 31-28 edge following back-to-back jumpers by Richard and Kokta. UW-Oshkosh then maintained its lead for the final 20:22 of the game.

A jumper by Campbell increased UW-Oshkosh's lead to 35-28 early in the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Staples put UW-Oshkosh ahead by a 38-31 count, and neither team scored for the remaining 4:23 of the period. Bethel University shot 1-for-11 from the field during the third quarter while UW-Oshkosh went 2-for-11.

The Royals scored seven unanswered points midway through the fourth quarter to cut their deficit to 44-43 with 3:24 remaining. Kokta answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession, and a 3-pointer by Schmidt extended UW-Oshkosh's advantage to 51-44 with 76 seconds to play.

UW-Oshkosh secured the victory by making 3 of 4 free throws during the final minute, including one by Kokta that gave the Titans their largest lead of 10 points at 54-44 with 24 seconds left.

Bethel University's Abby Miller led all players with 18 points off the bench. She drained 5 of 8 shots from the floor and 6 of 8 from the foul line in 33 minutes played.

The Royals' reserves accounted for 25 points as Kalli Zimmerman paced their starting lineup with eight points while Hannah Johnson had three points and a team-leading six rebounds and three blocks. Zimmerman, who was held to 3-for-9 shooting from the field, went into the game ranked 10th in the country with a .614 field goal percentage.

Bethel University and UW-Oshkosh met for the first time since the Titans secured a 78-69 win over the Royals during the 1997-98 season.

UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-Stevens Point in its WIAC opener on Wednesday (Jan. 4).