Titans Can't Keep Up With Badgers In Exhibition Game

After witnessing the Badgers' Division I experience and talent during a tough first half, the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team bounced back with a strong second period in its 106-39 exhibition defeat to the University of Wisconsin on Sunday (Nov. 8) at the Kohl Center in Madison.

The Badgers jumped on the Titans right away as they took a 9-0 lead just 2:07 into play. Tara Steinbauer, who tallied 19 first-half points, converted a trio of buckets to stretch Wisconsin's advantage to 13-2. She amassed four more baskets during a two-minute span to make it 33-2 with 11:18 left in the opening period.

UW-Oshkosh scored its first four points at the free-throw line, including a pair from both Heidi Baerenwald (So. • Appleton) and Laura Ebbens (Jr. • Appleton). A jumper by Michelle Boeder (Jr. • Oshkosh) at the 6:07 mark was the Titans' first field goal and cut their deficit to 44-6.

Wisconsin's Rae Lin D'Alie buried back-to-back three-point shots before the break to give her team a 62-8 halftime lead. The Badgers shot 66.7 percent (26-39) from the field and forced 22 turnovers in the opening half.

Shelby Churchill (Jr. • Sheboygan) got UW-Oshkosh on track with a lay-up after intermission. She followed that up by draining a three-point shot and another jumper to cut the Titans' deficit to 78-18.

A pair of freshmen got into the flow as UW-Oshkosh continued to put points on the scoreboard. Megan Wenig (Oshkosh) made a nice spin move in the lane to get free for a lay-up. Katie Kitzke (South Milwaukee) then heated up from behind the arc, knocking down three three-pointers to cut the Badgers' lead to 100-37.

Anya Covington recorded a steal and three baskets during the final five minutes on her way to finishing with 12 points. The Badgers were led by the 25 points of Steinbauer and the 19 of D'Alie.

The Titans got 15 points from Kitzke and nine from Churchill. UW-Oshkosh finished the game shooting 28.6 percent from both the field (12-42) and behind the three-point line (4-14). The Titans shot 78.6 percent (11-14) from the free-throw line.

Wisconsin, which outscored UW-Oshkosh, 44-31, in the second half, concluded the contest shooting 62.5 percent (45-72) from the field. The Badgers shot 46.7 percent (7-15) behind the three-point line and 90 percent (9-10) from the free-throw stripe.

The Badgers out-rebounded the Titans, 32-24, with Taylor Wurtz and Lin Zastrow grabbing five boards each. Wisconsin finished with 22 assists compared to just four for UW-Oshkosh. The Badgers also won the turnover battle with just nine compared to 32 for UW-Oshkosh. Wisconsin finished with 52 points off of the Titans' turnovers.

The attendance for the game was 4,394, the largest to ever watch a UW-Oshkosh women's basketball game.

UW-Oshkosh officially opens its 2009-10 season at Lake Forest College (Ill.) on Nov. 17.