Titans Complete Season Sweep Of Warhawks
Leah Porath led all players with 20 points, Abby Kaiser matched a career high with 14 and the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team completed the regular season sweep against UW-Whitewater with a 69-51 victory Friday (Feb. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh, which led the final 32:28 of the game, held a precarious 50-45 advantage early in the fourth quarter until Kaiser scored eight consecutive points in the span of two minutes to extend the cushion to 58-45 with 7:23 remaining. The Titans went on to lead by at least 10 points the rest of the way after Kaiser's scoring binge that began with a three-point play at the 9:23 mark, continued with back-to-back layups and ended with a free throw.
With the win the Titans claimed sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East Division standings with a 3-1 record while UW-Whitewater fell to 2-2. UW-Oshkosh, the two-time defending WIAC tournament champion, swept the series over the reigning league regular season-winning Warhawks for the first time since 2016.
UW-Oshkosh, winner of five of the past six meetings with UW-Whitewater, outlasted the Warhawks, 73-68 in overtime, Wednesday (Feb. 10) in Whitewater.
Porath, who scored 18 of her 20 points in the first half, shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range, and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. The 2020 WIAC Player of the Year has scored in double figures 36 times in the Titans' last 38 games.
Kaiser went 5-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-5 at the foul line to tie her previous career high of 14 points established during an 88-45 win over Lawrence University on Dec. 1, 2019. Kaiser also paced the Titans with six rebounds and tied her season high with four steals Friday.
Nikki Arneson added 10 points and three steals for UW-Oshkosh, which also received nine points from Julia Silloway and six points from Karsyn Rueth.
UW-Oshkosh concluded the game shooting 23 of 53 (43.4 percent) from the field, 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc and 15 of 19 (78.9 percent) at the free throw line. The Titans owned advantages of 17-27 in turnovers, 12-6 in steals and 3-2 in blocks. Both teams dished out 13 assists.
UW-Whitewater was limited to 36.4 percent (20-55) shooting from the floor, 14.3 percent (2-14) from 3-point range and 75 percent (9-12) at the foul line while outrebounding the Titans, 39-28.
Johanna Taylor had 10 points to lead the Warhawks, who also got seven points from Abby Belschner, and five points and a game-best eight rebounds from Aleah Grundahl.
UW-Whitewater starters shot just 10 of 35 (28.6 percent) from the floor while UW-Oshkosh's starters were a combined 19 of 27 (70.4 percent).
UW-Oshkosh raced out to a 9-4 advantage before reclaiming the lead for good at 17-14 on a Rueth 3-pointer with 2:28 left in the opening quarter. Porath capped her 14-point first period with a pair of free throws that extended the Titan cushion to 27-21 at the end of the quarter.
The Titans later scored 10 unanswered points for a 41-25 lead late in the second quarter and went into intermission with a 43-27 advantage. UW-Oshkosh's 10-0 scoring run featured three points apiece by Arneson and Jenna Jorgensen, and two from both Kaiser and Porath during a stretch of more than six minutes.
UW-Oshkosh went on to lead by as many as 19 points at 48-39 following a Silloway 3-pointer with 6:22 to play in the third quarter. UW-Whitewater, which trailed by a 50-43 score after three periods, pulled within 50-45 on a Rebekah Schumacher jumper that capped a 16-2 scoring run with 9:46 left in the game.
The Titans remain at home to host UW-Stevens Point (2-2, 2-2 WIAC) on Wednesday (Feb. 17) in Kolf Sports Center.
Postgame Interview (Ricky Nelson) With UW-Oshkosh Head Women's Basketball Coach Brad Fischer
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics