Titans Reel In Muskies For Victory In Home Opener

Nikki Arneson led all players with 15 points and 10 rebounds as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team opened up a large early lead and pulled away for a 79-40 victory over Lakeland University during its home opener Monday (Nov. 8) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (2-0), ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, scored the first eight points of the game before extending its lead to 16-2 midway through the first quarter. The Titans, who led by at least 11 points for the last 36:17 of the contest, put the game away with 20 unanswered points spanning the final two periods for a 62-29 advantage at the 8:41 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Titans have won each of their 13 meetings with Lakeland University since 1984. UW-Oshkosh downed the Muskies, 59-41, during the most recent prior matchup Nov. 26, 2013.

UW-Oshkosh, which connected on each of its first five attempts from beyond the 3-point arc Monday, recorded assists on 20 of its 28 made field goals. Seven of the Titans' remaining eight field goals were the result of layups immediately following offensive rebounds.

Lakeland University (0-1) was held without a basket for the first 5:13 of the game and went scoreless for a stretch of nearly eight minutes during UW-Oshkosh's 20-0 run in the second half.

Arneson shot 6-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3-point range, en route to producing her second career double-double. Arneson's 10 rebounds were two shy of a career best.

Leah Porath added 14 points for the Titans while Kayce Vaile had a career best 11 points and six rebounds. Brooke Freitag chipped in nine points in a reserve role as UW-Oshkosh featured 10 players with at least three points.

UW-Oshkosh's Ava Douglas dished out five assists and scored five points in 18 minutes off the bench. Titans starter Julia Silloway contributed three points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.

The Titans went 28 of 68 (.412) from the floor, 11 of 30 (.367) from 3-point range and 12 of 19 (.632) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh owned considerable advantages of 46-31 in rebounds, 16-4 in offensive boards, 20-3 in assists, 10-17 in turnovers, 8-6 in steals and 3-2 in blocks.

Lakeland University shot 31.3% (15-48) from the field and 62.5% (10-16) at the foul line. The Muskies missed all nine of their 3-point attempts.

Kacey Gardner paced the Muskies with 13 points and four rebounds. Ellie Felsinger had seven points for Lakeland University, which also received three steals from Sydney Walker.

UW-Oshkosh's eight consecutive points to begin the game was bookended by 3-pointers from Arneson and Kennedy Osterman sandwiched around a pair of Porath free throws. The Titans then extended their lead to 16-2 following Arneson and Porath 3-pointers ahead of Vaile's offensive rebound and putback with 5:13 left in the opening quarter.

The Titans went on to own leads of 30-11 after one period and 40-23 at halftime. The Muskies trimmed their deficit to 45-29 with 6:32 to play in the third quarter, but a Porath layup 17 seconds later sparked a run of 20 straight Titan points that preserved the victory. UW-Oshkosh's 20-point surge was highlighted by seven points from Porath, four from Vaile and Douglas 3-pointer until Freitag, Jenna Jorgensen and Allison Forney capped the run with layups at the 8:41 mark of the fourth period.

UW-Oshkosh led by as many as 39 points on two occasions during the final minute as Mackenzie Tlachac's layup gave the Titans a 77-38 advantage with 42 seconds left, and a pair of Freitag free throws provided the final score with seven ticks remaining.

The Titans travel to Minnesota for a pair of nonconference games this weekend, battling Gopher State programs Bethany Lutheran College on Friday (Nov. 12) and University of Minnesota Morris on Saturday (Nov. 13) at the College of Saint Benedict Tipoff Tournamentin St. Joseph.

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics