Titans Overcome Pioneers With Big Fourth Quarter
Leah Porath had a team-leading 19 points and seven rebounds as the nationally ranked and reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team overcame a sluggish start and pulled away for a 66-56 victory over UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Jan. 22) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (12-3, 2-2 WIAC), ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, was held to just two points through the first seven minutes of the game and trailed, 29-19, at intermission before roaring back to claim its first lead of the night early in the fourth quarter. The Titans, playing for the first time since Jan. 5 due to COVID-19 related protocols, trailed by as many as 15 points during the first half and led by 12 points with 19 seconds remaining in the game after shooting 16 of 29 from the field after halftime, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.
The Titans, who have won 17 of the last 19 meetings with UW-Platteville (9-7, 2-4 WIAC), earned their 12th consecutive home victory. UW-Oshkosh's last home setback was a 74-68 decision against UW-Platteville during the 2020-21 season opener Feb. 3.
Porath, a 2021 D3hoops.com First Team All-American and two-time WIAC Player of the Year, shot 9-for-18 from the field on the way to moving into ninth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,220 career points. Porath has now scored at least eight points in 61 straight games, including 55 double-digit scoring performances.
Nikki Arneson and Jenna Jorgensen added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the Titans while Ava Douglas chipped in seven. Jorgensen also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and registered three blocks in 20 minutes off the UW-Oshkosh bench. Douglas collected a pair of steals, and Silloway dished out a team-best three assists.
UW-Platteville's Maiah Domask led all players with 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the floor and nine rebounds. Domask accounted for 16 of the Pioneers' 29 points in the first half.
Taylor Gilbert had 10 points, three assists and three blocks for the Pioneers, who also received four points, six rebounds and a game-high four assists from Allison Heckert.
UW-Oshkosh finished the contest shooting 43.6% (24-55) from the field, 40% (6-15) from beyond the 3-point arc and 80% (12-15) at the free throw line. The Titans owned advantages of 32-31 in rebounds, 11-15 in turnovers and 6-3 in steals. UW-Oshkosh, which has held 10 opponents to under 50 points this season, went into Wednesday ranked first in the nation with 11.1 turnovers per game, third in scoring defense at 45.9 points per contest and eighth with a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
UW-Platteville went 22 of 54 (.407) from the floor, 6-for-23 (.261) from 3-point range and 6-for-10 (.600) at the foul line. The Pioneers held edges of 13-7 in assists and 5-4 in blocks.
The Pioneers scored the first points of the game en route to building leads of 9-2 in the first quarter and 27-12 during the second period. UW-Platteville led by double figures for a majority of the second quarter and limited UW-Oshkosh to just eight made field goals the entire first half on 29 attempts.
UW-Platteville maintained its lead until Abby Kaiser scored in the paint for a 44-43 UW-Oshkosh edge with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter. The Pioneers answered with a Domask layup more than a minute later, but the Titans reclaimed the lead for good on an Arneson 3-pointer for a 47-45 advantage at the 6:32 mark.
The Titans held the Pioneers scoreless during a stretch of nearly three minutes as Porath drilled a jumper and Silloway drove for a layup to provide UW-Oshkosh a 51-45 lead with under five minutes to play.
A Silloway 3-pointer extended the UW-Oshkosh lead to 58-49 with 1:35 remaining. Silloway, who scored all seven of her points during the final five minutes of the game, later hit a pair of free throws that gave the Titans their largest lead of 12 points at 66-54 with 19 ticks left.
UW-Oshkosh plays at UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 22).
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics