Fourth-Quarter Rally Lifts Titans Pasts Blue Devils
Eliza Campbell poured in 10 of her team-leading 16 points in the fourth quarter as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team stormed back to claim a 64-58 victory over UW-Stout on Saturday (Jan. 7) in Menomonie.
UW-Oshkosh (12-1, 2-0 WIAC) trailed, 56-46, with seven minutes to play before concluding the contest with an 18-2 scoring run. The Titans made six of their final nine shots from the field, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range, during the last 6:24.
UW-Stout (5-8, 1-1 WIAC) committed six consecutive turnovers before missing two shots from the field during a span of nearly five minutes during the fourth quarter as the Titans claimed a 60-56 advantage with 3:09 remaining on the first of back-to-back 3-pointers by Kendell Truttman.
The Titans, ranked 13th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, have won eight of their last nine meetings with the Blue Devils. UW-Stout won the most recent matchup, 59-52, last season in Oshkosh.
On Saturday, UW-Stout held advantages in field goal percentage (.426 to .385), rebounds (46-23) and free throw percentage (.778 to .593), but the Blue Devils – the third team to shoot better than 40 percent from the field against UW-Oshkosh this season – committed a season-high 29 turnovers. UW-Oshkosh committed 12 turnovers, including just three in the second half, and registered 13 steals.
UW-Oshkosh went into the game leading the country by yielding just 41.5 points per contest while listing second nationally with 11.8 turnovers per game and seventh with both a .309 opponent field goal percentage and a 24.6 average margin of victory.
Campbell shot 7-for-12 from the floor, including 4-for-4 during the final period, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
UW-Oshkosh's Taylor Schmidt added 12 points, a game-high three assists and a career-best seven steals. She collected five steals during the fourth period.
Kylie Moe chipped in nine points in 13 minutes off the UW-Oshkosh bench while starter Alex Richard contributed four points and a team-leading eight rebounds and two blocks.
UW-Oshkosh raced out to an 8-3 lead on a pair of free throws by Isabella Samuels, but UW-Stout scored 11 unanswered points for a 14-8 advantage with 2:40 to go in the first quarter. The Blue Devils connected on seven of the final nine shots from the field en route to an 18-11 advantage after one period.
The Titans tallied the first 13 points of the second quarter as the Blue Devils went scoreless for more than seven minutes. A 3-pointer by Morgan Kokta gave UW-Oshkosh a 20-18 edge. And a pair of free throws by Jaimee Pitt extended the Titan lead to 24-18 with 4:32 to play before intermission. UW-Stout began the second period by missing six straight shots from the field and committing seven turnovers before a basket by Darian Vinkemeier cut the UW-Oshkosh lead to 24-20 at the 3:43 mark.
Kyncaide Diedrich drilled a 3-pointer to pull UW-Stout within 24-23, and a pair of free throws by Kalley Hartmann gave the Blue Devils a 27-26 lead, but two free throws from Schmidt and a 3-pointer near the buzzer by Chloe Pustina provided UW-Oshkosh a 31-27 advantage at halftime.
UW-Stout scored the first nine points of the third quarter, including six by Diedrich, to reclaim a 36-31 lead. Moe capped a seven-point run for the Titans with a 3-pointer for a 38-36 advantage midway through the period, but the Blue Devils concluded the stanza with 12 of the last 15 points. UW-Oshkosh missed its last seven shots from the floor during the third quarter.
A 3-pointer by Jenna Goldsmith gave UW-Stout its largest lead of 10 points at 56-46 with 7:04 to play. A pair of free throws from Moe started the UW-Oshkosh comeback on the ensuing possession, and Campbell recorded a steal and drained a 3-pointer to trim the Titan deficit to 56-51 at the 6:24 mark.
Campbell drove for layups on the next two UW-Oshkosh possessions to pull the Titans within 56-55 with just under five minutes remaining, and Schmidt gave UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 57-56 with a steal and a layup at the 4:10 mark.
Truttman's second straight 3-pointer extended UW-Oshkosh's advantage to 63-58 with 2:06 left, and UW-Stout missed its last four shots from the floor and committed two turnovers over the final two minutes.
Diedrich led all players with 20 points and eight rebounds. She connected on 6 of 12 shots from the field and each of her six attempts from the foul line.
Goldsmith scored 13 points for the Blue Devils, who also received five points apiece from Anna Brown and Vinkemeier. Emily Jacques pulled down eight rebounds in 15 minutes played off the UW-Stout bench.
UW-Oshkosh returns home to face UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Jan. 11) in Kolf Sports Center.