Titans Overwhelm Lions From The Start
Leah Porath led 14 Titan scorers with 10 points as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team defeated Finlandia University (Mich.), 70-27, on Tuesday (Dec. 4) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (6-0) never trailed Finlandia University (0-9) and held a double-digit lead for all but the first 9:26 of the contest.
The Titans, who have started 6-0 for the fourth consecutive year, held the Lions to their lowest scoring performance in the span of 157 games since tallying 21 points on Nov. 20, 2012.
UW-Oshkosh, ranked 25th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, held their fifth straight opponent under 45 points. The Titans have trailed just once this season for a total of 15 seconds.
All 20 Titans received playing time against the Lions, including 12 who recorded assists and 11 who collected rebounds. UW-Oshkosh reserves accounted for 37 points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists and 12 steals.
Melanie Schneider posted nine points and Abby Kaiser eight points and three steals for the Titans.
UW-Oshkosh's Brooklyn Bull and Chloe Pustina had six points apiece while Olivia Campbell had a team-leading three assists and three steals. Bull also tied teammate Nikki Arneson with a team-high four rebounds on the night.
Other Titan contributions came from reserves Erin Vande Zande with four points and two steals, Jessie Rabas with two rebounds and a pair of assists, and Katie Ludwig with three points and one rebound.
UW-Oshkosh owned advantages in rebounds (27-23), assists (19-4), turnovers (8-26) and steals (17-4). The Titans' eight turnovers are a season low while the 17 steals are their most this year.
The Titans shot 50 percent (27-54) from the field for a season best. UW-Oshkosh also shot 40 percent (10-25) from beyond the 3-point arc and 66.7 percent (6-9) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh went into the game ranked ninth in the country with a .783 free throw percentage, 14th by allowing 46 points per game, 15th with a +25.0 average scoring margin and 16th with a 1.18 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Finlandia University shot 33.3 percent (11-33) from the floor, 11.8 percent (2-17) from the 3-point arc and 50.0 percent (3-6) at the foul line.
After opening the contest with a 3-pointer from Schneider, the Titans went on to take an 11-2 lead with 5:28 left in the first quarter. The teams then went scoreless until Finlandia University's Taylor Pertile scored a layup with 1:35 left in the first period. UW-Oshkosh responded with another 3-pointer from Bull and exchanged a pair of buckets to close the quarter with a 16-6 advantage.
The Titans went on a 15-2 scoring run early in the second quarter to increase their lead to 33-10 with 4:20 left before intermission, but the Lions responded with eight of the last 12 points of the second period to pull within 37-18 at halftime.
Finlandia University's Katie Loman claimed the first points of the second half before the Titans responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Pustina and Arneson. The Titans held the Lions to a season-low four points in the quarter while posting 16 of their own to claim a 53-22 lead entering the final quarter of play.
UW-Oshkosh owned its largest lead of 45 points (70-25) following a steal and a layup from Kaiser with 48 seconds left in the contest.
Katie Lundeen led Finlandia University in scoring with 10 points.
UW-Oshkosh has won all four of its contests against Finlandia University, including last year's 93-46 decision in Hancock, Mich.
The Titans travel to Illinois on Saturday (Dec. 8) to play Wheaton College.
Written by Ally Gwidt, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information
Photo courtesy of Steve Frommell, D3Photography.com