Titans Acquire Loss In WIAC Opener

UW-Eau Claire's Jessie Ruden knocked down six 3-pointers and finished with a game high 21 points as the Blugolds defeated UW-Oshkosh, 70-57, in a battle of nationally ranked women's basketball teams during the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday (Dec. 1) in Eau Claire.

UW-Eau Claire (7-0, 1-0 WIAC), ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, owned leads of 12-5 after the first quarter, 35-25 at intermission and 56-44 entering the final period en route to winning the first seven games of the season for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.

UW-Oshkosh (6-2, 0-1 WIAC), the reigning WIAC champion, entered the night ranked 20th in the nation.

Ruden went 6-for-9 from 3-point range while adding a game high six rebounds and six assists for the Blugolds, who also received 18 points from Bailey Reardon and 13 from Courtney Crouch.

Leah Porath, a 2021 D3hoops.com First Team All-American and two-time WIAC Player of the Year, paced UW-Oshkosh with 14 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the floor on the way to scoring in double figures for the 50th time in the Titans' past 53 games.

Julia Silloway added a season best 11 points for UW-Oshkosh, and Nikki Arneson and Brooke Freitag chipped in nine apiece. Arneson and Porath both collected a team high five rebounds. Porath and Ava Douglas dished out a pair of assists for the Titans.

UW-Eau Claire shot 49% (24-49) from the floor, 63.2% (12-19) from beyond the 3-point arc and 76.9% (10-13) at the free throw line. The Blugolds held advantages of 27-23 in rebounds, 17-9 in assists, 10-11 in turnovers and 3-2 in blocks.

UW-Oshkosh went 21 of 49 (.429) from the field, 6-for-18 (.333) from 3-point range and 9-for-15 (.600) at the foul line.

The Blugolds entered the night leading the country at 10.2 turnovers per game while UW-Oshkosh ranked fourth with 11.4. UW-Eau Claire, which registered assists on all but seven of its made field goals, was also fourth nationally with a 1.34 assist-to-turnover ratio. The Titans listed fifth in the nation with a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio, ninth with a .373 3-point percentage, and 10th with 57 made 3-pointers and by holding opponents to 45.3 points per contest.

UW-Eau Claire limited UW-Oshkosh to 1-for-10 shooting from the floor, including 0-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc, during the first quarter. The teams later combined to shoot 16 of 24 (.667) from the field and 6-for-6 from 3-point range during a third period in which the Titans whittled a 55-35 deficit down to 56-44 over the last 2:20.

UW-Oshkosh pulled within 59-52 following a Freitag layup with 5:13 remaining, but the Blugolds responded with eight of the next nine points over the ensuing three minutes to preserve the victory.

The Titans return home to host UW-La Crosse (6-3, 0-1 WIAC) on Saturday (Dec. 4) in Kolf Sports Center.