Seventh-Ranked Pointers Defeat Titans

Nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point forced 20 turnovers and allowed 26.4-percent shooting en route to a 56-40 victory over the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team on Wednesday (Dec. 7) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Pointers (2-0 WIAC), ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, have now won all seven of their games by at least 16 points. Their stifling defense held UW-Oshkosh (5-2/0-1 WIAC) to 14-of-53 accuracy from the field, including 20.7 percent (6-29) during the opening half.

UW-Stevens Point never trailed in the contest. The Pointers led 33-30 and then went on a 16-4 scoring run to take a 49-34 advantage with 4:03 remaining. Ashley Averkamp posted seven points during the streak, while Sam Barber counted four.

Barber recorded four steals and totaled all 12 of her points in the second half. Averkamp paced everyone with 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. UW-Stevens Point, which had 10 turnovers, also used nine points and six rebounds from Brooke Allen.

The game saw just 11 total points scored in the first nine minutes. Brooke drained a three-pointer during the opening 20 seconds to put the Pointers ahead for good. The Titans later made it a 7-6 score on Heather Conroy's (Fr. • Wisconsin Dells) jumper with 11:07 left in the first period.

UW-Oshkosh went scoreless for the next five minutes, as the Pointers extended their lead to 15-6. Averkamp knocked down back-to-back shots to get that scoring run going. Helping the Titans creep closer, Nichole Paisar (Fr. • Leopolis) connected on two long-distance jumpers to make it 19-16 at intermission.

Allen made another three-point shot early in the second half. Following a pair of baskets by Barber, Alyssa Olp swished a three-pointer to give UW-Stevens Point a 30-22 lead with 14:34 on the clock.

Kelsey Myklebust (Sr. • Wisconsin Dells) topped the Titans with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Katie Kitzke (Jr. • South Milwaukee) tallied nine points and three assists. Paisar also had six points and seven boards for UW-Oshkosh, which earned a win in the rebounding column, 43-35.

UW-Stevens Point nailed 51.6 percent (16-31) of its shots during the second half to finish at 41.4 percent (24-58). The Pointers hit 4-of-18 three-pointers (22.2 percent) and 4-of-7 free throws (57.1 percent). UW-Oshkosh countered with 25 percent (4-16) accuracy beyond the three-point arc and 57.1 percent (8-14) efficiency at the foul line.

The Titans meet another undefeated squad when they host UW-River Falls on Saturday (Dec. 10) in Kolf Sports Center.