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Jenna Jorgensen scored 14 points against the Warhawks, including a 3-point basket that put the Titans ahead 52-51 with 3:46 to play.
Jenna Jorgensen scored 14 points against the Warhawks, including a 3-point basket that put the Titans ahead 52-51 with 3:46 to play.

Titans Rally In Fourth Quarter To Defeat Seventh-Ranked Warhawks

Box Score

UW-Oshkosh took the lead with under four minutes to play – its first advantage since early in the opening period – and then for good at the 1:49 mark as the Titans knocked off nationally ranked and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season women's basketball champion UW-Whitewater, 60-57, during the league finale Wednesday (Feb. 16) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (18-5, 7-4 WIAC) trailed nearly the entire way, including by as many as 11 points early in the fourth quarter, until Jenna Jorgensen drilled a 3-pointer for a 52-51 Titans edge with 3:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. UW-Whitewater, ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, knotted the score eight seconds later and reclaimed a 54-52 advantage following an Aleah Grundahl layup with 2:57 left.

The Titans, who took their initial fourth-quarter lead following a string of 11 consecutive points – all from the combination of Jorgensen and Leah Porath – pulled even again at 54 on a Nikki Arneson layup before Kennedy Osterman and Jorgensen added baskets in the paint of their own to take a 58-54 lead with 1:28 to go. Maggie Trautsch hit a 3-pointer that cut the UW-Whitewater deficit to 58-57 at the 1:20 mark. However, the Warhawks' Kacie Carollo missed a potential go-ahead shot from beyond the arc 35 seconds later, and Julia Silloway split a pair of free throws to extend the Titans lead to 59-57 with 17 seconds to go.

UW-Whitewater (22-3, 12-3 WIAC), which clinched the league regular season title at home Saturday (Feb. 12), committed a turnover on its ensuing possession. Arneson then split two free throws to increase UW-Oshkosh's lead to three points, and Grundahl's off-balance, highly contested attempt at a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer sailed over the backboard to clinch the UW-Oshkosh victory.

UW-Oshkosh has now won 16 consecutive home games and five of the last six in the series with UW-Whitewater. The Titans' victory avenges a 67-63 overtime setback at then-eighth-ranked UW-Whitewater on Jan. 5. UW-Oshkosh, which earned its ninth win over a top-10 program since the D3hoops.com poll debuted in the 1999-2000 season, sports a 2-2 record against nationally ranked teams on the year.

The Titans will be the fourth seed at the eight-team WIAC Tournament that begins Friday (Feb. 18) with a pair of first round games. UW-Oshkosh, which has won the past three league tournaments, begins defense of its WIAC Tournament title at home during the second round Monday (Feb. 21) in Kolf Sports Center. Top-seeded UW-Whitewater earned a double bye at the conference tournament and will host a semifinal contest next Wednesday (Feb. 23).

The WIAC Tournament final will be played Feb. 25. Seedings for the league tournament were determined by WIAC athletic directors with consultation from the head coaches.

Arneson led all players Wednesday with 16 points for UW-Oshkosh, shooting 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 5-for-6 at the free throw line.

Jorgensen and Porath had 14 points apiece for the Titans, who also received nine points from Silloway, five from Abby Kaiser and two points along with a career-high 10 rebounds from Osterman. Arneson notched a game-best three steals while Porath pulled down seven rebounds, and Kaiser, Silloway and Osterman each dished out two assists.

Porath, the two-time reigning WIAC Player of the Year, has scored at least eight points during each of the past 67 games in which she has played, including 61 of them in double digits.

UW-Oshkosh went 19 of 50 (.380) from the floor, 6-for-20 (.300) from beyond the 3-point arc and 16 of 23 (.696) at the free throw line. The Titans owned advantages of 10-16 in turnovers, 9-3 in steals and 4-1 in blocks after entering the night leading the country with 10.7 turnovers per contest and 10th nationally by holding opponents to 49.3 points per game. UW-Oshkosh has committed 10 or fewer turnovers on 12 occasions this season.

UW-Whitewater shot 36.4% (20-55) from the field, 33.3% (8-24) from beyond the 3-point arc and 90% (9-10) at the foul line. The Warhawks went into Wednesday ranked seventh in the nation with a +9.58 average turnover margin and ninth with 14.3 steals per game while pacing the conference in scoring at 73.4 points per contest.

Grundahl led the Warhawks with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting from the floor.

Veronica Kieres had 11 points for UW-Whitewater, which also received six points in addition to a team-leading seven rebounds and four assists from Johanna Taylor.

UW-Whitewater went 5-for-10 from 3-point range in the opening period and owned leads of 19-12 after one quarter, 33-28 at halftime and 46-37 entering the fourth. The Warhawks then built their largest lead of the night when a Rebekah Schumacher jumper provided a 48-37 advantage at the 9:44 mark of the fourth quarter.

Carollo drained a 3-pointer for a 51-41 UW-Whitewater lead before the Titans exploded for 11 unanswered points to go back in front. Porath and Jorgensen sparked UW-Oshkosh's crucial 11-point run with back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Titans within 51-47 with just over five minutes remaining.

Following UW-Whitewater's fourth straight missed field goal attempt amid the Titan run, Porath drove for a layup and Jorgensen made another 3-pointer to give UW-Oshkosh its first lead at 52-51 and cap the 11-point surge. Arneson, Osterman and Jorgensen all later converted layups during a span of 68 seconds to give UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 58-54 with 1:28 left.

UW-Whitewater and UW-Oshkosh have alternated winning the WIAC regular season title over the past six seasons as the Titans won championships in 2017, 2019 and 2021, while the Warhawks clinched titles in 2018, 2020 and 2022.