Blugolds Edge Titans On Game-Winning Buzzer Beater

Katie Essen made a layup as time expired to lift nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire to a 64-62 home win over the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team in the regular season finale Friday (Feb. 26).

UW-Oshkosh's Jenna Jorgensen, who finished with a career-high 18 points, knotted the score at 62 on a basket in the paint with 2.4 seconds left in the game. After a UW-Eau Claire timeout advanced the ball into the frontcourt, Essen received an entry pass on the left side, dribbled, spun and released a leaning layup just before the final horn sounded.

With the win UW-Eau Claire avenged a 63-56 loss at UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday (Feb. 24) and secured home court advantage throughout the eight-team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament that begins with Monday (March 1) quarterfinals. UW-Eau Claire (7-1, 7-1 WIAC), the league's West Division winner, hosts UW-Platteville (2-6, 2-6), the fourth seed in the East Division, during the quarterfinal round.

UW-Oshkosh (6-2, 6-2 WIAC), the East Division champion, welcomes West Division fourth seed UW-River Falls (2-6, 2-6) to Kolf Sports Center on Monday. Tipoff between the two-time defending WIAC tournament champion Titans and UW-River Falls is set for 7 p.m. The WIAC Championship continues with semifinals Wednesday (March 3) and concludes with the title game Friday (March 5).

Jorgensen, the WIAC leader with a .577 field goal percentage, shot 8-for-13 from the floor in 20 minutes played off the bench Friday on the way to eclipsing her previous career high of 11 points established during the season opener against UW-Platteville on Feb. 3.

Leah Porath and Abby Kaiser added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for the Titans, who also received nine from Kennedy Osterman and eight from Julia Silloway. Porath grabbed a team-best seven rebounds while Kaiser collected a pair of steals.

Essen led all players with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for UW-Eau Claire. She shot 5-for-12 from the field and 12 of 13 at the free throw line.

Maizie Deihl had 16 points for the Blugolds while Jessie Ruden produced 15 as UW-Eau Claire starters accounted for 55 of the team's 65 points.

UW-Oshkosh shot 24 of 51 (47.1 percent) from the floor, 5-for-16 (31.3 percent) from 3-point range and 9-for-15 (60 percent) at the foul line. The Titans held slim advantages of 26-25 in rebounds, 10-9 in assists and 15-16 in turnovers.

UW-Eau Claire, ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, shot 44.2 percent (19-43) from the field, 58.3 percent (7-12) from beyond the 3-point arc and 79.2 percent (19-24) at the free throw line. The Blugolds had the only two blocks in the game.

UW-Oshkosh scored each of its first 14 points of the game in the lane and owned a 17-14 lead after the first quarter. UW-Eau Claire then finished the opening half with four straight points to take a 29-28 advantage into halftime, and UW-Oshkosh responded with the last five points in the third period to pull even at 48 entering the final quarter as neither team led by more than six points the entire night.

Porath drained a 3-pointer early in the fourth period to provide the Titans a 51-48 lead it would not relinquish until Ruden hit a 3-pointer of her own to tie the score at 57 with just over three minutes to play. Ruden later made another 3-pointer – her fourth of the game – to give the Blugolds a 60-59 lead with 79 seconds left.

Kaiser split a pair of free throws to tie the score at 60 with under a minute to play. After a UW-Eau Claire turnover with 37 seconds left, the Blugolds' Tyra Boettcher registered a steal near midcourt and converted a layup for her only two points of the game and a 62-60 lead. The Titans then missed a 3-pointer, but Porath secured the rebound and passed to a cutting Jorgensen for a layup that knotted the score at 60 with 2.4 seconds remaining.

Postgame Interview (Ricky Nelson) With UW-Oshkosh Head Women's Basketball Coach Brad Fischer

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athetics