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Alex Richard scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds against the Warhawks.
Alex Richard scored 12 points and collected seven rebounds against the Warhawks.

Warhawks' Rally Back To Defeat Titans

UW-Whitewater overcame two second-half deficits with long scoring runs to pull out a 68-66 victory over the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team on Wednesday (Feb. 18) in Oshkosh.

Trailing 55-45 with 8:02 to play, the Warhawks scored 11 unanswered points to take a 56-55 lead with 4:40 remaining. UW-Whitewater made 7 of 9 shots from the floor during the run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Reilly Stewart.

UW-Oshkosh reclaimed a 58-56 advantage after a free throw by Katelyn Kuehl and a jumper by Morgan Kokta with 3:27 left. Stewart's two free throws tied the game at 58, but Kuehl responded with a layup on the next possession for the Titans' last lead at 60-58 with 2:46 remaining.

UW-Whitewater then scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. Brooke Trewyn banked in an 18-foot jumper to tie it at 60 before Warhawk Andrea Meinert converted 1 of 2 free throws for a 61-60 score at the 1:40 mark. Following a missed 3-pointer by UW-Oshkosh, a Trewyn layup put UW-Whitewater ahead, 63-60, with 57 seconds to play. Meinert secured a rebound off of a missed layup by the Titans and made two free throws for a 65-60 lead with 37 seconds left.

The Titans got within 66-64 on an Ashley Neustifter jumper with 11 second to go, but UW-Whitewater's Malia Smith made two free throws for a 68-64 advantage with 10 seconds left. UW-Oshkosh's Alicia Tollefson scored the last points of the contest on a layup with two seconds on the clock.

UW-Whitewater (12-12, 7-8 WIAC), which has won five of its last six games against UW-Oshkosh, moved into a three-way tie for fourth place in the WIAC standings. UW-Oshkosh (19-5, 11-4 WIAC) fell to second place with one game remaining. UW-Superior (18-6, 12-3 WIAC) clinched at least a share of the league title with its 67-58 win over UW-Stout on Wednesday.

UW-Oshkosh scored seven consecutive points to take a 13-6 lead with 14:57 remaining in the first half. A free throw by Marissa Selner gave the Titans a 7-6 edge with 16:43 to play in the first period, and UW-Oshkosh maintained a lead until the 4:40 mark of the second half.

The Titans went on an 11-2 run during a six-minute span to build a 24-13 advantage with 6:16 left in the first period. UW-Oshkosh matched its largest lead of 12 points on a layup by Selner that put the Titans up 30-18 with 2:31 to go before halftime. UW-Whitewater then trimmed its deficit to 32-24 at the break on a 3-pointer by Trewyn with 51 seconds to go.

Trewyn scored eight of the Warhawks' first 12 points of the second half, including a layup that pulled UW-Whitewater to within 39-36 with 16:13 remaining. UW-Oshkosh answered with a 10-2 run for a 49-38 lead with 13:48 left and held a 55-45 advantage after two free throws by Kuehl at the 8:02 mark.

Trewyn led all players with 18 points. Meinert added 13 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double. Smith chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

UW-Whitewater, which advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Championship the past two seasons, shot 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field, including 61.5 percent (16-26) in the second half.

The Warhawks, who avenged a 72-58 loss to UW-Oshkosh on Dec. 3 in Whitewater, hit 4 of 12 (33.3 percent) shots from 3-point range and 14 of 18 (77.8 percent) free throws. UW-Whitewater also held advantages in rebounds (35-30) and blocks (6-1).

Kuehl paced UW-Oshkosh with 13 points, followed by Alex Richard with 12 and Neustifter with 11. Richard added a team-high seven rebounds while Neustifter led the Titans with five assists.

The Titans, ranked 24th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, ended the game shooting 47.2 percent (25-53) from the field, 22.2 percent (2-9) from behind the 3-point arc and 60.9 percent (14-23) from the foul line. UW-Oshkosh held a 12-14 advantage in turnovers.

UW-Oshkosh concludes its regular season at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Feb. 21). The Blugolds defeated the Titans, 63-57 in overtime, in Oshkosh on Jan. 17.