Titans Advance To WIAC Tournament Semifinal With Win Over Eagles

Three-time defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament champion UW-Oshkosh secured a spot in the semifinals with a 65-50 victory over UW-La Crosse during the second round Monday (Feb. 21) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (19-5), seeded fourth in the eight-team WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's), drained 12 3-pointers – one shy of a season high – and never trailed Monday en route to extending its winning streaks to 17 at home, 11 in the league postseason and five against fifth-seeded UW-La Crosse (14-12).

The Titans knocked down their first three attempts from beyond the arc and finished the contest shooting 12 of 25 from 3-point territory as six different players connected from long range.

UW-Oshkosh bolted out to a 9-2 lead early in the first quarter before owning advantages of 16-13 after one period, 32-20 at intermission and 52-37 entering the final quarter. The Titans, who led by double digits for the final 21:33 of the game, held their largest cushion of 20 points on four occasions in the second half.

The Titans advance to play in the WIAC Tournament semifinals at top-seeded UW-Whitewater (22-3) on Wednesday (Feb. 23). UW-Whitewater, which boasts a 10-0 home record this season, is ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com. UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater split their regular season series. The Titans held on for a 60-57 win over the Warhawks during the regular season finale Feb. 16 in Oshkosh after UW-Whitewater slipped past UW-Oshkosh, 67-63 in overtime, Jan. 5 in Whitewater.

Wednesday's other WIAC Tournament semifinal features second-seeded UW-Stout (13-10) hosting third-seeded UW-Eau Claire (19-7). UW-Eau Claire won its second round home contest by a 61-54 score over seventh-seeded UW-River Falls (12-13) on Monday.

The WIAC Tournament championship game is set for Friday (Feb. 25). The winner of the tournament earns the WIAC's automatic berth into the Division III Championship that begins March 4. UW-Oshkosh, which has won six of the past eight league postseason titles, has reached the tournament's championship game an unprecedented eight consecutive years and secured its 10th straight semifinals trip Monday.

Jenna Jorgensen paced a balanced UW-Oshkosh offense Monday with 14 points while Leah Porath added 13 points, Nikki Arneson 12, Julia Silloway nine, Kennedy Osterman six, Jaden Kolinski five, Julia Magnuson four and Abby Kaiser two.

Osterman collected a team-leading six rebounds. Silloway chipped in four boards to go along with a game-best five assists and two steals. Arneson and Porath both made three 3-pointers, Jorgensen and Osterman hit two long-range jumpers apiece, and Kolinski and Silloway both added one.

Porath, the two-time reigning WIAC Player of the Year and 2021 consensus First Team All-American, has now scored at least eight points in each of her last 68 games played that have included 62 double-figure scoring efforts.

UW-Oshkosh shot 47.9% (23-48) from the field, 48% (12-25) from beyond the 3-point arc and 70% (7-10) at the free throw line. The Titans held advantages of 31-24 in rebounds and 15-7 in assists.

UW-La Crosse went 18 of 45 (.400) from the floor, 3-for-15 (.200) from 3-point range and 11 of 17 (.647) while owning edges of 10-13 in turnovers, 8-4 in steals and 4-1 in blocks.

Paige Schumann led the Eagles with 14 points and two assists. Kyah Steiner and Kailee Meeker chipped in nine points apiece for UW-La Crosse.

UW-Oshkosh, winner of nine of its last 10 meetings with UW-La Crosse, went into Monday leading the country with 10.7 turnovers per contest and ranked 12th with a conference-best scoring defense at 49.6 points per game. The Titans have held 13 opponents to 50 or fewer points this season. UW-Oshkosh also defeated the Eagles this year by scores of 55-49 at home Dec. 4 and 59-57 in double overtime Feb. 12 in La Crosse.

UW-La Crosse entered the night with a WIAC-leading +5.8 average rebounding margin.

The Titans got a pair of 3-pointers from Porath bookended around an Osterman 3-pointer as they raced out to a 9-2 lead. UW-La Crosse answered with a 9-2 run of its own to tie the score at 11, but UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 16-13 following a Kolinski 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

After shooting 4-for-8 from 3-point range during the opening period, UW-Oshkosh went on to go 3-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second quarter and 4-for-7 during the third.

A Porath jumper late in the second quarter provided UW-Oshkosh its double-digit lead at 31-20, and the Titans led by at least 13 points for the rest of the night after Arneson hit a 3-pointer for a 35-20 advantage on the opening possession of the second half.

UW-Oshkosh then took its first 20-point lead at 45-25 on a Porath 3-pointer with 5:45 to go in the third quarter before an Arneson 3-pointer upped the advantage back to 48-28, and a Porath jumper made the score 50-30 at the 3:19 mark of the third period. The Titans later matched their largest lead on an Osterman 3-pointer for a 57-37 advantage with 8:49 left in the game.

Tipoff for the Titans' semifinal matchup in Whitewater is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics