Titans Proceed To Elite Eight With Win Over Yellow Jackets
The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team is heading back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999.
Leah Porath led all players with 27 points and Nikki Arneson added 21 as the Titans downed nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University (Ohio), 74-63, during the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday (March 11) in Whitewater.
UW-Oshkosh (22-6) never trailed over the final 24 minutes, owning leads of 33-28 at halftime and 50-49 after three quarters on the way to defeating its third nationally ranked opponent in as many games during this NCAA postseason. The Titans, the second team to score more than 70 points against Baldwin Wallace University this year, finished the contest 22 of 25 at the free throw line while committing just seven turnovers.
The Titans went on to build a double-digit lead by shooting 7-for-14 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 8-for-9 at the foul line in the fourth period while limiting the Yellow Jackets to 29.4% shooting from the floor, including 14.3% from beyond the 3-point arc, during the final 10 minutes.
UW-Oshkosh plays at Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m. Saturday (March 12) for the right to advance to the Final Four that commences March 17 in Pittsburgh, Pa. UW-Whitewater (26-4), ranked 12th in the country by D3hoops.com, won its sectional semifinal at home by a 78-76 score in overtime against 16th-ranked Smith College (Mass.) (25-3) on Friday.
The Titans, who were making their third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, reached the Elite Eight by ousting 10th-ranked Baldwin Wallace University (23-5) after winning their first two Division III Championship games by scores of 48-42 over 18th-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran College (23-2) in the first round and 64-56 at fourth-ranked Simpson College (Iowa) (26-2) during the second round.
Porath went 10 of 20 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 4-for-5 at the free throw line en route to finishing one point shy of matching her season high. Porath, a two-time consensus All-American, moved into fourth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,395 career points to surpass Gerty Van Lith, who scored 1,390 from 1976-79. Porath has now scored at least eight points in 71 of her last 72 games played.
Arneson shot 11 of 12 at the charity stripe, marking the 11th-best free throw performance by a WIAC player with at least nine makes at the foul line. Arneson, who scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half, also tied for the team lead with five rebounds Friday.
Kennedy Osterman knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with nine points for the Titans, who also received six points and five rebounds from Julia Silloway, five points and five boards from Abby Kaiser, and four points from Jenna Jorgensen.
UW-Oshkosh concluded the contest shooting 41.8% (23-55) from the floor, 37.5% (6-16) from beyond the 3-point arc and 88% (22-25) at the free throw line while owning advantages of 32-31 in rebounds, 9-8 in assists, 7-13 in turnovers and 5-1 in steals. The Titans, who have committed 10 or fewer turnovers 14 times on the year, went into the night leading the nation at 10.8 turnovers per game.
Baldwin Wallace University went 24 of 55 (.436) from the field, 4-for-20 (.200) from 3-point range and 11 of 15 (.733) at the foul line. The Yellow Jackets, who had their fewest steals of the season and matched their lowest rebounding total of the year, had a 6-0 edge in blocks.
Lilly Edwards paced the Yellow Jackets with 23 points, nine rebounds and two assists, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor. Edwards was the only Baldwin Wallace University starter to score a point.
Yellow Jackets reserves Emily Irwin and Caely Ressler chipped in 11 points apiece while Emily Lyon and Kira Philpot both had eight.
Neither team led by more than four points for the entirety of the first half until Osterman drilled a 3-pointer as time expired in the second quarter for a 33-28 Titans advantage. UW-Oshkosh never trailed after Silloway drove for a layup that put the Titans in front, 23-22, with 4:24 left in the second period.
Arneson later hit a jumper to provide UW-Oshkosh a 42-35 lead at the 4:08 mark of the third quarter. Baldwin Wallace University rallied to knot the score at 45 following an Irwin layup with 78 seconds to play in the third period. However, Porath then gave UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 48-45 on a three-point play 20 seconds later.
Clinging to a 54-53 edge with just over seven minutes left, UW-Oshkosh put the game away with eight unanswered points. Porath and Osterman sparked the decisive run with back-to-back 3-pointers during a span of 36 seconds before a Porath jumper extended the Titans cushion to 62-53 at the 5:35 mark.
A three-point play by Arneson gave UW-Oshkosh a 65-55 cushion with 4:17 left, and the Titans went on to build their largest lead of 11 points when Arneson made a pair of free throws that accounted for the final score with 34 ticks remaining.
UW-Oshkosh has now reached the fourth round of the national tournament on six occasions. The Titans, the 1996 Division III champion and 1995 runners-up, also advanced to the Elite Eight in 1994, 1998 and 1999.
The Titans, who boast a 34-14 record in 17 trips to the NCAA tournament, has now won both of its all-time matchups with Baldwin Wallace University. UW-Oshkosh also beat the Yellow Jackets, 74-59, on Dec. 29, 2004, in Rockford, Ill.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater will be meeting for the fourth time this season. The home team has been victorious during the three prior matchups as the Warhawks, who clinched the WIAC regular season title, slipped past UW-Oshkosh by a 67-63 score in overtime Jan. 5. The Titans then won on their home court, 60-57, over UW-Whitewater on Feb. 16, but the top-seeded Warhawks eliminated UW-Oshkosh from the WIAC Tournament semifinals with a 67-59 win Feb. 23.
The Titans and Warhawks have met just once previously in the Division III Championship – a 69-57 UW-Whitewater win during the third round of the 2014 national tournament in Greencastle, Ind.
Tickets for UW-Oshkosh's game against UW-Whitewater will be available starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Kachel Gymnasium. Tickets, which will not be available for presale, are $10 for adults; $7 for students (with valid college ID), seniors and youth; and free for ages 3 and under.
UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference