Titans Advance To Host Warhawks In WIAC Championship Final
UW-Oshkosh overcame a sizeable halftime deficit and held on for a 56-48 victory over UW-River Falls during the semifinal round of the WIAC Women's Basketball Championship on Friday (Feb. 24) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-River Falls, seeded sixth in the six-team league tournament, went into intermission with a 28-20 advantage, but top-seeded UW-Oshkosh rallied to take the lead for good at 34-33 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
After trailing by five points entering the final period, the Falcons cut their deficit to 47-45 with just over four minutes to play and 51-48 with 31 seconds remaining. However, the Titans made five consecutive free throws during the final 22 seconds to preserve their fourth straight win over UW-River Falls.
UW-Oshkosh (24-2), ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, advances to the WIAC Championship final for the fourth straight year and the 10th time in program history. The Titans are the three-time defending league tournament champion.
UW-Oshkosh will host second-seeded UW-Whitewater (21-5) in the league tournament final at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 26) in Kolf Sports Center. UW-Whitewater reached the final with a 69-54 home win over fourth-seeded UW-La Crosse (16-11) on Friday.
The winner of the WIAC tournament earns the league's automatic berth to the 64-team NCAA Division III Championship that commences March 3.
In Friday's victory, Eliza Campbell and Taylor Schmidt paced 10 UW-Oshkosh scorers with 10 points apiece, while Morgan Kokta added eight points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Schmidt also registered a game-high three assists and a team-leading two steals.
UW-Oshkosh held advantages in field goal percentage (.333 to .291), turnovers (15-8) and steals (6-5), while UW-River Falls knocked down six 3-pointers to just two long-range jumpers on 18 attempts by the Titans.
The Titans, who entered the semifinal matchup ranked second in the country with 11.9 turnovers per game and 10th by limiting opponents to 49.2 points per contest, held their 20th team to less than 56 points this season and committed fewer than 15 turnovers for the 21st time.
UW-River Falls (9-18) increased its advantage to 12-6 on a long-range basket by Hannah Pignato with 4:33 to play in the opening quarter, but UW-Oshkosh responded with seven of the next eight points to knot the score at 13 after one period.
UW-Oshkosh took a 20-15 lead following a 3-pointer from Emma Melotik and a layup by Schmidt, but the Falcons closed the first half with 13 unanswered points as the Titans missed seven straight shots from the field and committed four turnovers over the final seven minutes of the second period.
The Titans shot just 25.7 percent (9-35) from the floor and 20 percent (1-5) from the free throw line during the first half, while the Falcons made 10 of 27 (37 percent) field goal attempts and went 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) at the foul line.
UW-Oshkosh scored the first seven points of the third period during a span of just 59 seconds to trim its deficit to 28-27.
The Titans then forged their first lead of the second half at 34-33 on a layup from Madeline Staples with 3:27 to go in the third period, and UW-Oshkosh maintained a lead for the remainder of the contest.
UW-Oshkosh upped its advantage to 44-37 on a basket by Jaimee Pitt early in the final quarter before the Falcons pulled within 47-45 with 4:09 remaining.
Isabella Samuels then split a pair of free throws and Melotik drilled a 3-pointer for a 51-45 UW-Oshkosh lead, but Theisen snapped the Falcons' four-minute scoreless drought with a 3-pointer that pulled the UW-River Falls within 51-48 with 31 seconds left.
Schmidt made one of two free throws to increase UW-Oshkosh's lead to 52-48 with 22 seconds to go.
The Falcons' Taylor Paulsrud then missed a layup on the ensuing possession. Kokta collected her 12th rebound on Paulsrud's missed shot and proceeded to hit a pair of free throws for a 54-48 UW-Oshkosh advantage with 14 seconds remaining.
Following a missed 3-pointer by UW-River Falls, Campbell then capped the scoring with two free throws with one second remaining as UW-Oshkosh extended its season-long winning streak to 10 games.
Theisen had a game-high 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds for the Falcons, who also received 10 points and three steals from Katie Messman, and seven points and a game-high three blocks from Taylor Karge.
UW-Oshkosh secured WIAC Championship titles in 1999, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Titans also produced runner-up finishes at the league tournament in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
UW-Whitewater, making its fifth appearance in the WIAC Championship final, is seeking its first league postseason crown. The Warhawks were the runners-up to UW-Stevens Point in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The Titans have won each of the five prior meetings with UW-Whitewater in the league tournament. UW-Oshkosh previously ousted the Warhawks with home victories by scores of 52-40 during the 2000 semifinals, 71-50 in the 2002 quarterfinals, 70-60 during the 2003 quarterfinals, 88-73 in the 2005 quarterfinals, and 66-59 during the first round in 2015.
UW-Oshkosh owns an 11-0 record at home this season, while UW-Whitewater is 6-4 on the road.
The Titans and Warhawks split their two games during this year's regular season. The Warhawks defeated UW-Oshkosh, 55-50, on Jan. 18 in Whitewater while the Titans ousted UW-Whitewater by a 59-58 score on Feb. 15 in Oshkosh.