Titans March Past Saints

UW-Oshkosh recorded 12 steals and held a 22-point halftime lead on its way to a 68-44 women's basketball victory over The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) on Sunday (Nov. 28) in Menomonie.

Katie Kitzke (So. • South Milwaukee) led all players with 14 points and four thefts for the Titans (5-2). Megan Wenig (So. • Oshkosh) also had 14 points and four three-point baskets, as Shelby Churchill (Sr. • Sheboygan) booked eight points and six rebounds.

The Titans had three different players get in the scorebook as they took a 5-0 lead. Caitlin McKernon then posted The College of St. Scholastica's (1-4) first five points to cut the deficit to 7-5. Kitzke and Kelsey Myklebust (Jr. • Wisconsin Dells) followed with three points each to put UW-Oshkosh ahead, 13-5, with 14:07 on the clock.

Myklebust notched two more buckets to extend the Titan cushion to 23-11. UW-Oshkosh didn't let up, tallying a 16-2 scoring run late in the opening half. Kitzke contributed a jumper and a lay-up before Michelle Boeder (Sr. • Oshkosh) punctuated the rally with a three-pointer to go up by 24. The Titans took a 39-17 advantage to halftime.

UW-Oshkosh's margin bounced between 21 and 28 points during the first eight minutes of the second period. After watching the lead shrink to 46-24, Wenig buried three long-distance attempts in less than two minutes to make it 55-27.

The closest the Saints would get was 19 points (55-36) after three field goals by Kelly Cinquegrani. McKernon topped her squad with 12 points, while Cinquegrani marked 10 points and four steals. The College of St. Scholastica also received team-highs of eight rebounds and three assists from Laura Amys.

Marking an advantage in three of four statistical categories, the Titans just lost the rebounding battle, 38-36. UW-Oshkosh shot 41 percent (24-58) from the field, 47 percent (8-17) behind the arc and 71 percent (12-17) at the foul line. The College of St. Scholastica compiled 33 percent field goal shooting (18-54), along with 2-of-9 three-point conversions (22 percent) and 6-of-10 makes on free throws.

The Titans host UW-Eau Claire in the WIAC opener on Wednesday (Dec. 1).