Titans Picked For WIAC Third-Place Finish
The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team is predicted to finish third in the 2018-19 WIAC standings, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league's coaches and sports information directors.
UW-Oshkosh (21-6 record in 2017-18) has finished first or second in the league each of the last six seasons under seventh-year head coach Brad Fischer. The Titans, who have produced a 139-33 record under Fischer, claimed the league title during the 2017 campaign and placed second in the conference from 2013-16 in addition to last season's runner-up finish.
Defending WIAC champion UW-Whitewater (25-4) topped the league's preseason poll. The Warhawks, ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, were followed in the WIAC poll by UW-Eau Claire (18-9) in second, UW-Oshkosh, UW-La Crosse (16-10) in fourth, UW-Stevens Point (14-12) in fifth, UW-River Falls (16-10) in sixth, UW-Stout (7-18) in seventh and UW-Platteville (6-19) in eighth.
UW-Whitewater secured last year's conference crown with a 12-2 record. UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh all finished second in the WIAC standings with 9-5 marks. UW-Stevens Point placed fifth with an 8-6 record while UW-River Falls was sixth at 7-7, UW-Platteville seventh at 2-12 and UW-Stout eighth at 0-14.
The Warhawks also claimed the league's tournament title with a 68-65 decision over UW-Oshkosh in the final. UW-Whitewater, the lone WIAC team in last year's Division III Championship, was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA postseason.
UW-Oshkosh welcomes back nine letter winners, including three starters, from a team that led the conference last season with 70.5 points per game, 50.9 points allowed per contest, a .436 field goal percentage, a +7.9 average rebounding margin and a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Leading the UW-Oshkosh returners are senior guard Chloe Pustina, junior guard Olivia Campbell, and senior forwards Isabella Samuels and Melanie Schneider.
Pustina and Campbell started each of UW-Oshkosh's 27 games last season, averaging 5.1 and 3.6 points per game, respectively. Campbell ranked second in the WIAC with 75 assists while Pustina was fifth with 73. Campbell earned All-WIAC Defensive Team honors after recording a team-leading 47 steals.
Samuels and Schneider both received All-WIAC honorable mention recognition last season. Samuels, who had a WIAC-best .618 field goal percentage a year ago, is the top returning scorer for the Titans, averaging 9.6 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds per contest. Schneider produced 8.4 points per game, and a team-leading .771 free throw percentage and 29 steals in a reserve role last year.
Rounding out the returning UW-Oshkosh letter winners are senior forward Erin Vande Zande, junior forward Emily Miller, and sophomore forwards Nikki Arneson, Leah Porath and Karsyn Rueth.
UW-Whitewater has won at least 20 games 10 of the last 11 years. Junior guard Camri Conley is the team's leading returning scorer at 7.9 points per contest. Senior forwards Olivia Freckmann and Sarah Schumacher contributed 7.3 and 6.5 points per contest, respectively.
UW-Eau Claire brings back all five starters from last year's squad. Junior forward Anna Graaskamp finished second in the WIAC with a .532 field goal percentage and third with 15.6 points per game. Junior guard Kelsey Bakken had a team-high 157 rebounds and 56 steals, while placing second with 10.4 points per contest.
UW-La Crosse has posted back-to-back 16-win seasons for the best two-year stretch since the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Three starters return from last year, including junior guard Dani Craig, who finished second in the team with 9.4 points per contest and third with 100 rebounds.
UW-Stevens Point has reached double digits in wins in 28 of 29 seasons under head coach Shirley Egner, who is the winningest coach in WIAC history with 540 victories. Junior guard Carly Cerrato made a team-best 52 3-pointers and was second on the team with 42 steals and 10.5 points per game a year ago.
Derek Staley will serve as the interim head coach at UW-River Falls, replacing Cindy Holbrook, who finished as the program's all-time winningest coach with 251 wins. Junior forward Crystal Pearson is UW-River Falls' leading returning scorer after producing 9.8 points per game last season.
UW-Stout welcomes Hannah Iverson as its new head coach, replacing Mark Thomas, who accumulated 472 victories – the second-highest total in league history – in 31 seasons. The Blue Devils' top three scorers from a year ago return, including junior guard Kyncaide Diedrich, who had a team-high 15.9 points per game. Senior guard Bailey Diersen was second on the squad with 15.2 points per contest.
UW-Platteville has three starters back, including senior guard Kassie Buchholz, who contributed 8.3 points per game. Senior guard Morgan Horstman missed a majority of the 2017-18 campaign due to injury but led the 2016-17 team with 12.9 points per contest.
UW-Oshkosh is seeking its fifth NCAA postseason trip in six years after winning at least one game at the Division III Championship from 2014-17.
The Titans open the 2018-19 season with an exhibition contest at University of Wisconsin on Sunday (Nov. 4). The Titans begin the regular season at home against Loras College (Iowa) on Nov. 9.