Titans Round Up Stormy Petrels In Second Half

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to erase a double-digit deficit and go on to defeat Oglethorpe University, 72-59, on Friday (Dec. 19) in Atlanta, Ga.

The Titans trailed the Stormy Petrels, 35-24, with 18:50 remaining before tallying 23 consecutive points to take control and avoid the upset. UW-Oshkosh (8-1) made 8 of 11 shots from the field during its decisive run while Oglethorpe University (5-6) missed eight straight shots and committed three turnovers.

UW-Oshkosh's 23-point outburst began with a 3-point basket by Ashley Neustifter at the 18:32 mark and was bookended by a Marissa Selner layup for a 47-35 lead with 12:25 left. Neustifter had seven points and Selner nine during the run.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 12th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, registered 16 assists and shot 56.3 percent (18-32) from the floor in the second period.

Selner led the Titans with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Taylor Schmidt had 10 points and a career-high nine assists. Katelyn Kuehl added seven points and a season-high 10 rebounds, including seven offensive. Emma Melotik, Neustifter and Alex Richard chipped in with nine points apiece.

The Titans, who entered the week ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III with a .457 field-goal percentage, ended the game shooting .426 (26-61) from the floor, including .300 (9-30) on 3-point attempts. UW-Oshkosh converted 50 percent (11-22) of their free throws and outrebounded Oglethorpe University, 41-28.

UW-Oshkosh connected on three of its first four shots to take a 7-0 lead with 17:45 left in the opening period.

The Titans matched their largest lead of the first half at 9-2 on Alex Richard's second basket of the game. UW-Oshkosh forced three Oglethorpe University turnovers and limited the Stormy Petrels to one basket during the first 3:40 of play.

An offensive rebound and layup by Selner gave UW-Oshkosh a 14-7 advantage with 11:14 remaining in the first half, but six straight points by Oglethorpe University pulled the Stormy Petrels within one with 8:40 left.

Schmidt's 3-point basket ended Oglethorpe University's run and extended UW-Oshkosh's lead back to four points at the 8:19 mark, but back-to-back 3-pointers gave the Stormy Petrels an advantage (19-17) they didn't relinquish for the remainder of the half.

Oglethorpe University increased its lead to 23-18 on a jumper by Emily Buck with 5:47 left in the first period. UW-Oshkosh got within two points on a 3-pointer by Melotik with 3:57 remaining, but the Stormy Petrels tallied the last four points of the half for a 30-24 lead at the break.

The Stormy Petrels scored the first five points after halftime for their largest lead at 35-24. Following UW-Oshkosh's 23-point run, Oglethorpe University got within eight points on two occasions.

UW-Oshkosh reclaimed a double-digit advantage at 52-41 with 10:23 remaining and led by at least 10 points the rest of the way. A layup by Richard at the 3:39 mark gave the Titans their largest lead at 66-45.

Oglethorpe University's Ciaira Hughes had a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Buck added 16 points for the Stormy Petrels.

The Stormy Petrels, who entered the game averaging 70.8 points, shot 41.7 percent (20-48) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-14) on 3-pointers and 70 percent (14-20) from the foul line.

Oglethorpe University qualified for NCAA Division III postseason play from 2006-09 and reached the Final 4 in 2008.

UW-Oshkosh remains in Atlanta to play Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Saturday (Dec. 20).