Titans Pull Away For Convincing Victory Over Scots

Nikki Arneson had a season high 29 points behind a school record shooting performance and collected eight rebounds to lift the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team to a convincing 72-42 victory over Alma College (Mich.) on Friday (Nov. 19) at the UW-Oshkosh Classic in Kolf Sports Center.

After battling to a 10-10 tie after one quarter, UW-Oshkosh (5-1) limited Alma College (1-3) to just two field goals during the second period en route to taking a 27-15 lead into halftime. The Titans went on to build a 44-28 advantage after three quarters before shooting 75% (12-16) from the field during a dominant fourth period.

Arneson paced the Titans in scoring for the fifth time this season, shooting 11 of 15 from the floor, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range. Arneson, averaging 16.8 points per game on the year, scored 18 points in the first half and surpassed her previous season best of 22 points.

Arneson, who went 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc in both the second and fourth quarters, finished four points shy of matching a career best and two made 3-pointers short of tying the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record for long-range makes without a miss. Arneson becomes the first Titan to make at least six 3-pointers without a miss. UW-Oshkosh's prior record for 3-point percentage in a game with at least six makes was held by Kelly O'Keefe, who went 7-for-8 from beyond the arc on Dec. 3, 2005.

Arneson now ranks second in league history for made 3-pointers without a miss. UW-River Falls' Stacie Robey owns the WIAC 3-point percentage record for a game, shooting 9-for-9 from beyond the arc against UW-La Crosse during the 1988-89 campaign.

Leah Porath added 11 points and five rebounds for UW-Oshkosh, which entered the night ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com. Porath, a 2021 D3hoops.com First Team All-American, has scored in double digits 48 times in the Titans' past 51 games.

UW-Oshkosh featured nine scorers as Julia Silloway and Brooke Freitag added eight points apiece while Abby Kaiser chipped in six and Allison Forney four. Ava Douglas contributed six rebounds and three assists for the Titans. Kaiser led all players with three steals.

The Titans went 31 of 60 (.517) from the floor, 7-for-15 (.467) from 3-point range and 3-for-4 (.750) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh held advantages of 34-26 in rebounds, 13-7 in assists, 10-16 in turnovers and 9-3 in steals.

Alma College shot 37.5% (18-48) from the field, 15.4% (2-13) from beyond the 3-point arc and 57.1% (4-7) at the foul line. The Scots, who had a 2-1 edge in blocks, suffered an 85-42 setback to UW-Oshkosh during their most recent meeting Nov. 25, 2019, in Alma, Mich.

Taylor Sas paced the Scots with 11 points and five rebounds. Alma College's Kendall Griffioen added nine points while Maddie Robbins dished out a game high four assists without committing a turnover.

The Scots and Titans combined to shoot 8-for-27 (.296) from the field during a highly competitive first quarter. However, Arneson accounted for 11 of UW-Oshkosh's 17 points in the second period as Alma College went just 2-for-11 from the floor and committed six turnovers during the decisive second period.

The Titans overcame their third and final deficit of the game when Arneson buried her second 3-pointer for a 13-11 lead with 7:23 left in the second period. The Titans went on a 19-4 run spanning the middle two periods for a 29-15 cushion at the 8:44 mark of the third quarter following a Kaiser layup. UW-Oshkosh's 19-4 run was highlighted by 11 Arneson points and four from Kaiser.

UW-Oshkosh, which led by double figures for the final 21:46 of the contest, owned their largest advantage after Julia Magnuson's layup and first collegiate points provided the final score with 33 seconds remaining.

The Titans close out the UW-Oshkosh Classic against St. Norbert College on Saturday (Nov. 20).