Titans Chop Down Foresters In Final Seconds

Heidi Baerenwald (So. • Appleton) converted a three-point play with two seconds left to give her 28 points and lead the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team to a 66-64 win over Lake Forest College (Ill.) on Tuesday (Nov. 17) in Lake Forest, Ill.

Baerenwald, a first-year transfer from Ripon College, tallied her 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 accuracy from the free-throw line. She also grabbed nine rebounds and dished off one assist in her UW-Oshkosh debut.

UW-Oshkosh (1-0), which won its season opener for the 28th time in 36 years, also received 12 points and four assists from Michelle Boeder (Jr. • Oshkosh), eight points from Katie Kitzke (Fr. • South Milwaukee) and six points, six rebounds and three assists from Shelby Churchill (Jr. • Sheboygan).

The Titans led by one point before a jumper from Lisa Nassin put Lake Forest College (0-1) up, 64-63, with 21 seconds remaining. Back down the court, Laura Ebbens (Jr. • Appleton) found Baerenwald in the lane, where her lay-up dropped in while being fouled. Baerenwald converted the foul shot to give the Titans the two-point win and their second straight victory over the Foresters.

UW-Oshkosh opened the game with an 11-4 scoring run, starting with four points from Baerenwald. The run included a three-point basket from Kitzke with 14:55 left in the first half to give the Titans a 9-2 advantage.

Lake Forest College then went on an 8-3 scoring spurt to knot the game at 14 with 8:32 remaining in the opening half. The Foresters built a 20-16 lead, but the Titans rallied back to take a 30-27 halftime advantage thanks to eight points from Boeder and six from Baerenwald.

Baerenwald opened the second half with four straight points to spark UW-Oshkosh to a 35-27 lead with 17:27 to play. Lake Forest College pulled to within 41-39, but a Kitzke three-point play gave the Titans a 44-39 lead with 10:55 left.

The Foresters refused to fold as they tied the score at 45 with 8:11 remaining. The Titans answered the charge with a 15-7 scoring run to take a 60-52 lead with 3:52 to go. But, four free throws by Tracy Rainey and a three-point play by Nassin cut the Foresters' deficit to 60-59 with 1:57 left.

Following two free throws by UW-Oshkosh's Megan Wenig (Fr. • Oshkosh), one by Nassin and one by Ebbens, the Titans owned a 63-60 lead with 1:14 to play. Nassin then scored four straight points to give Lake Forest College a late 64-63 lead.

Nassin and Claire Schmidt both scored 15 points to lead Lake Forest College. Schmidt also tallied 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Rainey finished the contest with 14 points and six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field and 68.2 percent (15-22) from the free-throw line. The Titans made 25 percent (3-12) of their three-point shots while committing 17 turnovers.

Lake Forest College made 48.9 percent (23-47) of its field-goal attempts. The Foresters also shot 64.3 percent (18-28) from the free-throw line. Lake Forest College, which turned the basketball over 19 times, missed all four of its three-point shots.

UW-Oshkosh visits Carroll University on Thursday (Nov. 19).