Titans Unable To Create Tie For Conference Lead

UW-Whitewater had five double-digit scorers and created 16 steals on the way to defeating UW-Oshkosh, 72-60, in a meeting between nationally ranked women's basketball teams on Wednesday (Feb. 7) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Whitewater (19-3, 9-2 WIAC), ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, reclaimed a 13-12 lead it would not relinquish with 45 seconds left in the first quarter. Leading 29-28 early in the third period, the Warhawks went on 13-3 scoring run for a 42-31 advantage and led by at least nine points for the final 14 minutes.

The Warhawks maintain a one-game lead in the conference standings over second-place UW-La Crosse (15-7, 8-3 WIAC) with three contests remaining. UW-Eau Claire (15-7, 7-4 WIAC) and 18th-ranked UW-Oshkosh (17-4, 7-4) are tied for third.

UW-Whitewater's Brooke Trewyn led all players with 19 points, eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists in Wednesday's victory. She shot 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free throw line while matching her season high in steals.

Sarah Schumacher and Malia Smith added 12 points apiece for the Warhawks, who also received 11 points from Camri Conley, and 10 points and five steals off the bench from Olivia Freckmann.

UW-Whitewater held advantages in field goal percentage (.446 to .431), assists (11-8), turnovers (20-10), steals (16-7) and blocks (3-1).

UW-Oshkosh, which owned a 38-31 rebounding edge, matched its season high in turnovers, surrendered its highest point total of the season and shot 1-for-7 from 3-point range.

Eliza Campbell led the Titans with 16 points, including 10 in the third quarter, for her ninth consecutive double-digit scoring effort and 12th in the past 13 games.

Isabella Samuels and Emma Melotik had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for UW-Oshkosh while Melanie Schneider contributed eight points and a team-leading seven rebounds in a reserve role.

UW-Oshkosh entered the contest leading the nation with 10.2 turnovers per game. The Titans also ranked second in the country with a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio and ninth by allowing 48.5 points per game.

UW-Whitewater owned leads of 13-12 after one quarter and 27-20 at intermission before Smith and Trewyn both tallied seven points during the third period as the Warhawks took a 51-35 advantage into the final quarter.

UW-Oshkosh cut its deficit to 29-28 on a layup by Samuels with 7:05 to play in the third quarter, but the Warhawks' ensuing 13-3 scoring run featured a 3-pointer from Smith and layups by Freckmann, Schumacher and Smith during a span of two minutes, 11 seconds.

Trewyn scored five consecutive points to increase the Warhawks' advantage to 47-33 with 2:14 left in the third quarter, and UW-Whitewater led by at least 11 points the rest of the way.

The Warhawks won the first matchup of the season with the defending WIAC champion Titans, 54-52, on a buzzer-beating jumper by Conley on Jan. 3 in Whitewater.

UW-Oshkosh plays at UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Feb. 10).

Photo courtesy of Steve Frommell, D3Photography.com