Titans Win WIAC Tournament Opener Behind Porath's Impressive Performance

Leah Porath tied a career high with 30 points and established career bests with 14 rebounds and six assists to lead the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team to a 79-59 victory over UW-River Falls during the quarterfinal round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Monday (March 1) in Kolf Sports Center.

Porath, the reigning WIAC Player of the Year and 2020 NCAA Division III All-American, outscored the entire UW-River Falls team by a 14-10 count during an opening quarter in which the Titans built a 20-10 advantage. Porath then had 20 points by halftime as UW-Oshkosh upped its lead to 39-28 at intermission before reaching 30 points in the opening minute of the final period and checking out for the remainder of the night.

Two-time defending WIAC postseason champion UW-Oshkosh (7-2), the top seed in the East Division, advances to play at home Wednesday (March 3) against West Division second seed UW-La Crosse (5-4) in the semifinal round. Wednesday's other WIAC Championship semifinal features West Division top seed UW-Eau Claire (8-1) hosting East Division second seed UW-Whitewater (7-2).

Porath finished Monday shooting 12 of 19 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free throw line en route to matching her career-best scoring effort initially set during a 77-71 setback to UW-Stout on Jan. 11, 2020. Porath, who did not commit a turnover while recording a block and a pair of steals, surpassed her previous career highs of 12 rebounds and four assists. The double-double was Porath's third in four seasons with the Titans.

UW-Oshkosh reserves contributed 33 points against the Falcons, including Jenna Jorgensen with 16, Nikki Arneson with 11 and Ava Douglas with four. Jorgensen went 7-for-14 from the floor and remains the WIAC leader with a .561 field goal percentage.

Titans starter Abby Kaiser had eight points and six rebounds while Julia Silloway added four points, seven rebounds and five assists. Kennedy Osterman chipped in with four points, four rebounds and four assists. Osterman and Silloway combined to play 56 minutes without committing a turnover in the UW-Oshkosh backcourt.

UW-Oshkosh shot 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from the field during the third quarter and concluded the game 31 of 67 (46.3 percent) from the floor overall. The Titans also shot 1-for-13 from 3-point range and 16 of 19 (84.2 percent) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh owned advantages of 45-34 in rebounds, 18-8 in assists, 8-12 in turnovers and 7-4 in steals. Both teams had two blocks.

The Titans, who picked up their 12th straight win over West Division fourth seed UW-River Falls (2-7), went into the WIAC quarterfinals leading the league in scoring defense (57.8), field percentage (.445) and assists per game (12.5). UW-Oshkosh's 18 assists Monday were a season high.

Macy Nilsen paced UW-River Falls with 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting from the floor, including 2-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc, to go along with eight rebounds.

Jenna Zeman added 11 points and a team-leading three assists for the Falcons, who also received eight points each from Cassie Heinrichs, Katelyn Karch and Bethany Vasecka.

UW-River Falls shot 35 percent (21-60) from the field, 30.8 percent (8-26) from 3-point range and 60 percent (9-15) at the foul line after entering the night with a conference-best 64 made 3-pointers.

UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 7-5 following an Arneson layup with 6:11 to go in the first quarter. Porath then accounted for each of the Titans' next 13 points as UW-Oshkosh built a 22-13 advantage early in the second period.

UW-Oshkosh went on to lead by as many as 14 points on three occasions during the second period before outscoring the Falcons, 28-20, in the third quarter and opened up its largest cushion of 22 points at 70-48 on a Jorgensen 3-pointer with 8:56 left in the game. The Titans also had 22-point leads at 74-52 after a pair of Osterman free throws with 6:18 to play and at 77-55 on an Arneson free throw with 5:10 left.

The Titans, who have won five of the past seven WIAC tournament titles, are seeking to reach the final for the eighth consecutive season. UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse will be meeting for the first time this season. The Titans split their regular season series with UW-La Crosse a year ago, but the Titans have won five of the last six matchups in the series.

2021 WIAC Women's Basketball Championship Website

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

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics