Titans Host Falcons In WIAC Championship Opener
The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team begins its quest for a fourth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament title in five years when its hosts UW-River Falls on Tuesday (Feb. 20). The opening tip for the tournament's first round contest is set for 7 p.m. in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (19-5), ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, is seeded third for the six-team WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) while UW-River Falls (16-9) is seeded sixth.
Fourth-seeded UW-Eau Claire (17-8) hosts fifth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (14-11) in Tuesday's other first round game.
Top-seeded UW-Whitewater (22-3) and second-seeded UW-La Crosse (16-9) earned first round byes and will host semifinal games on Thursday (Feb. 22).
The conference tournament championship game will be contested Saturday (Feb. 24) at the site of the highest remaining seed. The tournament winner receives the WIAC's automatic berth to the 64-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins March 2.
UW-Oshkosh, which has won its last six meetings with UW-River Falls, claimed WIAC Championship titles in 1999, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Titans, who own a 6-3 record at home this season, have reached the championship game of the conference tournament 10 times in the 19-year history of the event, including a 65-56 loss to UW-Whitewater in last year's title contest.
The Titans defeated UW-River Falls, 69-62, on Jan. 13 in River Falls and 68-45 on Jan. 27 in Oshkosh. UW-Oshkosh, which held the Falcons scoreless during the entire third quarter during the most recent meeting, has trailed UW-River Falls for less than five total minutes over the two matchups this year.
UW-River Falls is seeking its first league tournament championship. The Falcons, who sport a 4-5 road record this season, have won one game in Kolf Sports Center since 2011 – a 76-69 decision on Jan. 6, 2016.
UW-Oshkosh has defeated UW-River Falls during the WIAC Championship the past two seasons. The Titans won their only two meetings with the Falcons in the league postseason by scores of 56-48 during the semifinal round last season and 65-64 in the championship game in 2016.
The Titans boast a 22-12 record in 16 appearances in the WIAC Championship, including an 8-4 mark in first round games. UW-River Falls is 7-17 overall and 6-10 in the opening round during its 17 conference tournament trips.
UW-Oshkosh enters Tuesday's game leading the WIAC in scoring (71.6), scoring defense (50.2), field goal percentage (.441), average rebounding margin (+8.8), turnovers per game (10.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.32). The Titans have scored at least 70 points 14 times this season and limited 14 opponents to 50 or fewer points.
Senior forward Eliza Campbell leads UW-Oshkosh with 12.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and 21 blocks. She enters Tuesday's game as UW-Oshkosh's 12th all-time leading scorer with 1,153 career points.
The balanced UW-Oshkosh offense features 10 regulars averaging better than three points per game, including starters in junior forward Isabella Samuels at 9.7, senior guard Emma Melotik at 8.8, junior guard Chloe Pustina at 4.8 and sophomore guard Olivia Campbell at 3.6.
Samuels paces the conference with a .618 field goal percentage and ranks second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per game.
Melotik has a team-high 51 3-pointers while Olivia Campbell leads the squad with 67 assists and 43 steals. Pustina is second on the team with 64 assists and 25 steals.
Junior forward Melanie Schneider of the Titans has contributed 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game with 25 steals in a reserve role.
UW-Oshkosh's key contributors off the bench also include senior guard Jaimee Pitt with 6.4 points per game, senior forward Madeline Staples at 5.3 points per contest, freshman forward Karsyn Rueth at 4.2 and freshman guard Leah Porath at 4.1.
Pitt lists second on the team with 22 3-pointers while Staples ranks third with 4.1 rebounds per game.
UW-River Falls leads the WIAC by connecting on 34.4 percent of its shots from 3-point range and holding opponents to 35.2 percent shooting from the field. The Falcons have allowed just two teams to shoot better than 45 percent from the floor this season.
Falcons senior guard Brynn Liljander is the conference leader with 16.3 points per game and 57 3-pointers. She also leads UW-River Falls with 59 assists and 40 steals.
Senior forward Taylor Karge is averaging 11.5 points for the Falcons to go along with a team-leading 6.3 points per contest and 35 blocks.
UW-River Falls also receives 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game from reserve sophomore forward Crystal Pearson, who paces the Falcons with a .534 field goal percentage.
Rounding out the UW-River Falls regular starting lineup are junior forwards Jaycie Gerding and Taylor Paulsrud at 6.4 and 5.4 points per game, respectively, and senior center Hayley Rau at 4.9.
Defending league tournament champion UW-Whitewater owns an eight-game winning streak while leading the WIAC with 40.4 rebounds and 10.6 steals per game and a +6.2 turnover margin. The Warhawks enter this year's tournament ranked 12th in the country.
UW-La Crosse has a league-leading 167 3-pointers while UW-Eau Claire is averaging a conference-best 16.6 assists per game. UW-Stevens Point boasts a WIAC-high .729 free throw percentage.
UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh all tied for second place in the WIAC standings. Conference tiebreaking procedures determined seeding. UW-Oshkosh finished among the top two teams in the conference for the sixth consecutive season.
UW-Stevens Point has won a league-high seven WIAC Championship titles, including six in a row from 2008-13.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout own four conference tournament championships apiece while UW-Eau Claire has claimed three and UW-Whitewater its lone title last year.
The Titans are attempting to become the fourth third-seeded team to win the WIAC Championship. UW-Oshkosh secured the conference postseason title as the third seed in 2015 and UW-Stevens Point accomplished the feat in both 2008 and 2013.
UW-Oshkosh has a 17-4 home record in WIAC Championship play. The Titans, whose lone opening-round home loss was a 68-57 setback to UW-Platteville in 2001, have won each of their last six WIAC Championship first round home contests, including the most recent by a 66-59 score over UW-Whitewater in 2015.