Titans Put Falcons Away With Strong Third Quarter

Eliza Campbell recorded a double-double as nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh erupted for 18 unanswered points and remained tied atop the WIAC women's basketball standings with a 68-45 victory over UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 27) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (16-2, 6-2 WIAC) took the lead for good at 20-18 with 7:31 left in the second quarter. Clinging to a 32-29 advantage at the 1:46 mark of the second period, the Titans scored the final four points of the first half and all 14 points in the third quarter before the Falcons trimmed their deficit to 50-31 with 9:47 to play in the game.

The Titans' 18-0 run included four points apiece from Campbell and Isabella Samuels while the Falcons shot 0-for-10 from the field and committed 12 turnovers during the span of 12 minutes.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, secured its sixth straight win over UW-River Falls. The Titans, who boast a 16-0 record when scoring at least 58 points this season, remain tied for first in the league with six games remaining.

UW-River Falls (14-5, 5-3), which was held to its lowest point and steal (4) totals of the season, falls into a tie for second in the WIAC standings.

Campbell led four UW-Oshkosh double-digit scorers with 12 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocks. Campbell, who recorded her fourth career double-double, has paced the Titans in scoring during six of the last nine games.

Jaimee Pitt added 11 points off the bench for the Titans, who also received 10 points apiece from starters Olivia Campbell and Samuels. Olivia Campbell, who went into the game leading the WIAC with a 2.20 assist-to-turnover ratio, had a game-high five assists.

UW-Oshkosh also defeated the Falcons, 69-62, on Jan. 13 in River Falls.

The Titans concluded Saturday's contest with advantages in field goal percentage (.418 to .386), rebounds (32-31), turnovers (22-10) and steals (11-4). UW-Oshkosh shot 19-for-26 (73.1 percent) at the free throw line while UW-River Falls went 7-for-15 (46.7 percent).

UW-Oshkosh entered the game leading the country in turnovers per game (10.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58) while listing fourth nationally in average scoring margin (+28.1), ninth in scoring defense (47.2) and 10th in field goal percentage (.457).

The Titans, who have held 13 opponents to 50 or fewer points this season, were also pacing the WIAC in scoring (75.3), average rebounding (+12.2) and turnover (+6.71) margins, 3-pointers (126) and 3-point percentage (.375).

UW-Oshkosh had a pair of four-point leads in the first quarter, but UW-River Falls' Crystal Pearson converted two free throws to tie the score at 16 after one period.

The Titans regained their final lead at 20-18 on a layup by Emma Melotik, who finished the game with five points and four rebounds. A three-point play by Eliza Campbell extended UW-Oshkosh's advantage to 27-20 midway through the second quarter.

Pearson drove for a layup to pull the Falcons within 32-29 at the 1:46 mark of the second quarter before Eliza Campbell scored the final four points of the half, including a tip-in at the buzzer, to provide the Titans a 36-29 advantage at intermission.

Samuels corralled an offensive rebound and scored in the lane early in the third quarter. Samuels recorded another layup to increase the Titan run to eight straight points.

Karsyn Rueth drained a 3-pointer for a 43-29 Titan lead and hit a jumper at the halftime buzzer to cap UW-Oshkosh's 18-point run that extended the lead to 50-29. Rueth ended the game with seven points in a reserve role.

UW-Oshkosh, which led by at least 19 points the entire fourth period, held its largest advantage of 24 points on two occasions during the last quarter. Melotik, who went into Saturday's game with a WIAC-leading 42 3-pointers, hit a shot from beyond the arc for a 55-31 advantage with 7:20 to play while Leah Porath split a pair of free throws to match the Titans' largest lead at 68-44 with 42 seconds left.

Pearson led UW-River Falls with 12 points and three assists off the bench.

Brynn Liljander chipped in nine points for the Falcons while Taylor Karge had five points and a team-high five rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Jan. 31).