Titans Cruise To Win Over Monarchs
Emma Melotik scored a career-high 24 points to lead the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team to a 76-36 victory over Methodist University (N.C.) on Sunday (Dec. 17) in Raleigh, N.C.
UW-Oshkosh (9-0), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III, scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed. The Titans built a 20-8 lead after the first quarter and outscored Methodist University, 38-14, during the second half.
Melotik connected on 9 of 14 shots from the field, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range, to eclipse her previous career high of 15 points. Her .750 success rate from beyond the 3-point arc is the fourth-best performance in school history for players who made at least six 3-pointers in a game.
Eliza Campbell added 11 points for the Titans while Isabella Samuels recorded a career-best 12 rebounds.
All 14 Titans in uniform played at least five minutes. UW-Oshkosh reserves combined to score 34 points, including nine from Melanie Schneider, seven from Madeline Staples and six from Emily Miller. Twelve Titans scored points, 11 registered rebounds and nine tallied assists.
UW-Oshkosh's Erin Vande Zande had three rebounds and a game-high four assists in just four minutes of action while Schneider grabbed seven rebounds and recorded three steals in 20 minutes off the bench.
The Titans concluded the contest with considerable advantages in field goal percentage (.460 to .342), 3-point percentage (.455 to .200), rebounds (44-19), offensive rebounds (18-3), assists (23-8) and steals (9-4). UW-Oshkosh overcame a season-high 15 turnovers by making 10 of 22 3-pointers and notching assists on 23 of its 29 field goals.
UW-Oshkosh entered the weekend leading the country in field goal percentage, scoring margin, turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Melotik accounted for eight points during the Titans' 10-0 scoring run to open the game. She drilled a pair of 3-pointers for a 6-0 lead and added a layup that capped the run.
Methodist University pulled within 13-7 in the first period, but UW-Oshkosh scored seven of the last eight points of the quarter and led by double figures for the final 32:35 of the contest after Staples made a free throw for a 17-7 advantage.
The Monarchs shot 60 percent (6-10) from the floor during the second quarter before a layup by Schneider gave UW-Oshkosh a 38-22 lead at intermission.
The Titans began the second half with a 17-4 scoring run that featured eight points from Melotik and four from Campbell. Jaimee Pitt capped the Titans' outburst with a 3-pointer for 55-26 lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
UW-Oshkosh scored 11 unanswered points, including five by Melotik and four by Miller, during a seven-minute span in the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 70-33 with less than three minutes to play. Methodist University missed five field goals and four free throws while committing three turnovers during the Titans' 11-0 surge that began at the 9:35 mark of the fourth period and ended with a Monarchs basket with 2:38 left.
The Titans held their largest lead of 40 points when Leah Porath hit a jumper that provided the final score with less than one second remaining.
UW-Oshkosh had a 27-7 rebounding advantage during the second half and limited the Monarchs to 26.3 percent (5-19) shooting from the field over the final two quarters.
Kayla Goldsmith led Methodist University (1-7) with eight points and six rebounds. Christian Sanders chipped in seven points off the bench for the Monarchs.
With Sunday's victory, UW-Oshkosh now boasts a 127-27 record over the past six seasons under head coach Brad Fischer.
The Titans have won both of their meetings with Methodist University. UW-Oshkosh downed the Monarchs, 77-38, in the first matchup on Jan. 7, 1994.
UW-Oshkosh is off until hosting Carroll University on Dec. 30 in Oshkosh's recently constructed Menominee Nation Arena. The Titans and Carroll University will be playing the first collegiate game in Menominee Nation Arena, home of the NBA G League's Wisconsin Herd.