Titans Double Up V-Hawks

Jaimee Pitt led four Titan double-digit scorers with a season-high 14 points as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team defeated Viterbo University, 83-41, at the UW-La Crosse Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday (Nov. 25).

UW-Oshkosh (4-0) built leads of 45-12 at halftime and 68-24 after three quarters on the way to extending its winning streak to seven games over NAIA member Viterbo University.

Pitt shot 5-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, in 16 minutes played in a reserve role.

Melanie Schneider added a career-high 13 points and a team-leading five rebounds off the UW-Oshkosh bench as Titan reserves accounted for 51 points and 23 rebounds. All 14 Titans in uniform received at least eight minutes of playing time.

UW-Oshkosh starters Isabella Samuels and Emma Melotik chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Melotik and Olivia Campbell led the Titans with four assists apiece.

The Titans, ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, concluded the contest with advantages in field goal percentage (.541 to .327), rebounds (36-32), assists (16-9), turnovers (24-8), steals (7-0), blocks (6-2). UW-Oshkosh shot 66.7 percent (20-30) from the floor during the first half.

UW-Oshkosh entered the game leading the Division III with 6.7 turnovers per game, a +26 average rebounding margin and a +3.50 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Titans also listed second among the 426 Division III programs in points allowed per game (35.3), fifth in assists per contest (23.3), and sixth in both scoring average (88.3) and field goal percentage (.520).

Viterbo University's Madison Doerr hit a 3-pointer 25 seconds into the game, but UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 4-3 following consecutive layups from Samuels with 8:49 left in the first quarter.

UW-Oshkosh stretched its lead to 11-3 on a layup by Pitt midway through the opening quarter, and the Titans maintained a double-digit lead for the final 33 minutes of the game.

The Titans connected on their first six shots from the floor during the second quarter, extending their lead to 34-8 on a layup from Samuels.

The V-Hawks were held without a field goal for nearly seven minutes until Kassi Hofschild drove for a layup to cut the Viterbo University deficit to 34-10 at the 6:06 mark of the second quarter.

UW-Oshkosh outscored the V-Hawks, 23-4, in the second period as the Titans shot 10-for-13 from the field while Viterbo University went 2-for-10 from the floor and committed seven turnovers during the quarter.

The Titans increased their advantage to 57-17 following a pair of free throws from Schneider at the 4:06 mark of the third quarter. UW-Oshkosh then held its largest lead of 46 points at 72-26 on a jumper by Chloe Pustina with 8:09 remaining in the game.

Alyssa Nilssen and Ambree Schlosser paced Viterbo University (3-6) with 10 points apiece. Schlosser dished out a team-high three assists while Hofschild led all players with six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh plays Luther College (Iowa) at the UW-La Crosse Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday (Nov. 26).