Titans Move Into Sole Possession Of WIAC Lead
Emma Melotik paced a balanced UW-Oshkosh scoring attack with 14 points as the nationally ranked Titans cruised to a 73-53 win over defending WIAC women's basketball champion UW-River Falls on Saturday (Feb. 4) in Kolf Sports Center.
The Titans led by at least 10 points for the final 23:47 on the way to their third straight victory over the Falcons and their ninth win in the last 11 meetings. UW-Oshkosh also defeated UW-River Falls, 65-55, on Jan. 21 in River Falls.
UW-Oshkosh (19-2, 9-1 WIAC), ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, assumes sole possession of first place in the WIAC standings with four league games remaining following 19th-ranked UW-Whitewater's (18-3, 8-2 WIAC) 70-50 loss at UW-Stout (7-14, 3-7) on Saturday.
The Titans held advantages over the Falcons in field goal (.438 to .370), 3-point (.333 to .100) and free throw (.833 to .643) percentages to go along with edges in rebounds (34-27), assists (13-7), turnovers (17-13) and steals (8-6). UW-Oshkosh converted a season-high 25 free throws, including its first 12 of the game, on 30 attempts.
UW-Oshkosh entered the contest leading the country with 11.8 turnovers per game while listing fourth nationally by holding opponents to 46.5 points per game. The Titans have held 18 opponents under 56 points this season.
Melotik led 12 UW-Oshkosh scorers by counting all 14 of her points in the second half. She connected on 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range and both of her attempts at the free throw line.
UW-Oshkosh's Eliza Campbell added 12 points for her 14th double-digit scoring effort of the year. Alex Richard contributed 10 points while Morgan Kokta had six points, a career-high eight rebounds and three assists.
Isabella Samuels chipped in eight points off the UW-Oshkosh bench as 15 Titans played at least two minutes. Kylie Moe recorded six points and Melanie Schneider and Erin Vande Zande had four points apiece.
UW-Oshkosh scored seven unanswered points to claim a 7-4 lead and never trailed after Kokta buried a 3-pointer for a 5-4 advantage with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter. UW-River Falls knotted the score at 9, but Kokta made a pair of free throws to give the Titans the lead for good with just under two minutes to play in the opening period.
The Titans owned a 15-11 advantage after the first quarter despite beginning the game shooting 1-for-10 from the field.
Campbell's basket near the end of the first quarter sparked a string of 10 consecutive points by the Titans as they extended their lead to 23-11 after a pair of free throws from Richard at the 6:57 mark of the second period.
UW-River Falls (6-15, 1-9 WIAC) cut its deficit to nine points on three occasions during the second quarter, but a layup by Samuels increased the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 29-18, and the Titans led by at least 10 points the rest of the way.
UW-Oshkosh owned a 36-21 lead at intermission by shooting 19-for-20 at the free throw line and committing just four turnovers during the first half.
The Titans built their largest lead of 24 points three times in the second half. Schneider drove for layup that upped the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 52-28 with 73 seconds left in the third quarter while Melotik hit two free throws for a 65-41 lead with 5:26 to play in the fourth period. Melotik then buried a 3-point shot to increase UW-Oshkosh's lead to 69-45 with 3:52 to go.
Kate Theisen led UW-River Falls with 10 points while Taylor Karge added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds and four assists. The Falcons also received nine points and two steals from Katie Messman and eight points from Hannah Pignato.
UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-La Crosse on Wednesday (Feb. 8). The Titans won the first meeting of the season between the teams, a 51-49 overtime decision on Jan. 25 in Oshkosh.
Photo courtesy of Steve Frommell, D3Photography.com