Titans Overtake Warriors To Advance In NCAA Tourney

Jenna Jorgensen drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:14 left as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team did not allow a point in the final six minutes and came back for a 48-42 victory over nationally ranked Wisconsin Lutheran College during the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday (March 4) in Indianola, Iowa.

UW-Oshkosh (20-6), which faced a 37-32 deficit entering the final period, held Wisconsin Lutheran College (23-2) scoreless after the Warriors upped their lead to 42-38 with 6:22 remaining in the game. Jorgensen's late 3-pointer gave the Titans a 43-42 edge – the Titans' first lead since the 4:26 mark of the third quarter. 

After the Warriors, ranked 18th in the country by D3hoops.com, missed a pair of free throws with 47 seconds to play, UW-Oshkosh's Kennedy Osterman drained a 3-pointer of her own from the left corner to extend the Titans advantage to 46-42 with 17 ticks left. Wisconsin Lutheran College misfired on a 3-pointer on its next trip down the court. Nikki Arneson collected the defensive rebound, and made two free throws to account for the final score.

UW-Oshkosh, which received one of 20 at-large berths into the NCAA tournament, advances to play Indianola Regional host and fourth-ranked Simpson College (26-1) at 5 p.m. Saturday (March 5). Simpson College, the regular season and postseason champion in the American Rivers Conference, extended its winning streaks to 23 games on the year and 21 at home with a 73-67 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) (22-5) during the first round Friday.

Arneson led all players with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Titans, shooting 6-for-11 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 3-for-4 at the free throw line. The double-double was Arneson's third this season and fourth career.

Osterman and Abby Kaiser added nine points apiece for the Titans, who also received six points from Jorgensen and four from Leah Porath. Kaiser recorded eight rebounds and two steals while Osterman chipped in a pair of steals and went 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

UW-Oshkosh shot 18 of 51 (.353) from the floor, 7-for-23 (.304) from 3-point range and 5-for-8 (.625) at the free throw line. The Titans, who held their 14th opponent to 50 points or fewer this season, had advantages of 37-35 in rebounds, 9-4 in assists, 9-10 in turnovers and 4-3 in steals after entering the NCAA postseason leading Division III with 10.9 turnovers per game.

Wisconsin Lutheran College, the regular season and postseason winner in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, shot 32.7% (17-52) from the field, 16.7% (4-24) from beyond the 3-point arc and 50% (4-8) at the foul line. The Warriors, who produced their fewest assists and steals of the year, headed into Friday ranked fourth nationally by limiting opponents to 46.7 points per game and fifth at 11.9 turnovers per contest.

Sam Leisemann had nine points and nine rebounds to lead the Warriors, who also received nine points and seven boards from Jenna Mace, and eight points from Kaitlyn Shadoski.

UW-Oshkosh held leads of 11-8 after one quarter and 26-20 at halftime, but Wisconsin Lutheran College outscored the Titans, 17-6, during the third period to take a 37-32 advantage into the final 10 minutes.

The Warriors reclaimed a 34-32 lead on a Shadoski jumper with 3:16 left in the third quarter and maintained an advantage until the Titans scored the final 10 points of the game.

A three-point play by Lesisemann upped the Wisconsin Lutheran College cushion to 40-35 with nine minutes to go, and a Maria Murray layup later provided the Warriors their 42-38 advantage at the 6:22 mark.

Murray's basket in the paint represented the final Wisconsin Lutheran College points as the Warriors went on to miss their final seven field goal attempts while committing one turnover and missing a pair of free throws during the final six minutes.

Arneson sparked the Titans' 10-0 run to close out the game with a layup that trimmed the deficit to 42-40 at the 6:07 mark. Neither team then scored for nearly five minutes until Jorgensen sank her go-ahead 3-pointer with 74 second left. Following a pair of Leisemann misses at the charity stripe with 48 seconds to play, Osterman hit her corner 3-pointer 30 seconds later to put the game out of reach.

With the victory UW-Oshkosh reaches 20 wins for the ninth consecutive full season. The Titans, who have been victorious all eight of their meetings with Wisconsin Lutheran College, have won at least one game during their last 14 appearances in the Division III Championship. The Titans and Warriors had not played each other since a 67-57 UW-Oshkosh victory Nov. 29, 2003.

UW-Oshkosh is seeking its third consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. The Titans were one of 16 teams still vying for the 2020 national title when the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that also forced the cancellation of the 2021 Division III Championship.

The Titans have not faced Simpson College since defeating the Storm, 59-52, on Dec. 29, 2013, in Wisconsin Dells.

UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference

2022 UW-Oshkosh Women's Basketball Indianola Regional Media Guide

2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Digital Program

Photo by Ginnie Coleman, Kodiak Creative