Titans Notch Wire-To-Wire Victory Over Falcons

UW-Oshkosh led from start to finish during its 58-46 women's basketball win over UW-River Falls on Saturday (Feb. 1) in River Falls. The Titans (17-2/8-2 WIAC) are ranked 15th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com.

Sarah Stecker scored the first four points of the game on her way to 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. UW-Oshkosh also used 10 points and four assists from Katelyn Kuehl.

Seven minutes into the contest, Katie Messman made a lay-up to pull the Falcons within 8-7. The Titans then didn't allow a point for the next 5:46. UW-Oshkosh's 9-0 scoring run consisted of four points by Kuehl and the next five by Morgan Kokta.

Stecker sandwiched two lay-ups around a steal to give UW-Oshkosh a 21-9 lead. Another hoop by Stecker made it a 27-12 score with 2:03 to play before intermission.

UW-River Falls (4-15/3-8 WIAC) pulled to 30-16 on Messman's lay-in to conclude the first period.

The Titans came out strong in the second half, with a Stecker three-point play and a Taylor Schmidt long-range jumper increasing the lead to 40-21.

Tess Lueders sparked a run of 12 unanswered points by the Falcons. She made two jump shots and two lay-ups before Messman's basket pulled her squad within 40-33 with 11:11 to go. That seven-point deficit was the closest the score got.

Schmidt assisted Stecker on a basket with 2:43 left that put the Titans up, 52-40. Schmidt then buried six free throws in the final 1:10 to clinch the victory.

UW-Oshkosh totaled 47 percent (20-43) overall shooting, along with 2-of-7 accuracy (29 percent) on three-pointers and 16-of-25 success (64 percent) on free throws.

UW-River Falls hit 43 percent (20-47) from the field, 15 percent (2-13) from long range and 67 percent (4-6) on free throws.

The Falcons received 11 points from Lueders and seven rebounds from Cassy Saxton. UW-River Falls committed 22 turnovers, including 16 during the first half.

The Titans continue their road trip at UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Feb. 5).

By Jon Feyen