Titans Give Fischer 100th Coaching Victory

Eliza Campbell scored 14 points and head coach Brad Fischer won his 100th game as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team earned a 65-41 victory over first-time opponent John Carroll University on Wednesday (Dec. 21) to conclude play at the Puerto Rico Clasico in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

UW-Oshkosh (8-1), ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, never trailed and built leads of 22-11 after one quarter and 47-23 in the third period.

The Titans owned advantages in field goal percentage (.491 to .228), rebounds (51-29), assists (10-7) and steals (8-7).

UW-Oshkosh entered the contest leading the country with 39.1 points allowed per game and second with 11.6 turnovers per contest. The Titans, who have held eight of their opponents to 53 points or fewer this year, committed 17 turnovers against John Carroll University after totaling just 22 over the previous three games.

The Titans also cruised to victory despite matching their season low with five 3-pointers and converting a season-worst 47.1 percent (8-17) of their attempts from the free throw line.

Campbell, who scored nine of her 14 points in the first quarter, added six rebounds and four steals. She notched her third straight double-digit scoring effort and sixth on the year.

UW-Oshkosh reserves contributed 35 points as 12 Titans scored against the Blue Streaks.

Kylie Moe tallied nine points in 10 minutes off the UW-Oshkosh bench while reserves Jaimee Pitt had seven points, Olivia Campbell five points and five rebounds, and Taylor Dagon three points and seven rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh starters Taylor Schmidt and Alex Richard chipped in seven and five points, respectively. Richard also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Fischer, who sports a 100-24 record in his fifth season at UW-Oshkosh, reached 100 wins faster than all but two coaches in WIAC history. Former Titans coach Pam Ruder achieved the milestone in 116 games and current UW-Eau Claire head coach Tonya Englund in 121.

Fischer becomes the fourth UW-Oshkosh women's basketball coach to reach 100 wins, joining Carol Anhalt, Kathi Bennett and Ruder. Fischer is also the 17th 100-game winner in WIAC history after guiding UW-Oshkosh to records of 20-6 in 2013, 26-4 in 2014, 23-7 in 2015 and 23-6 last season.

Under Fischer's direction, the Titans have advanced to the second round of the NCAA postseason the past two seasons and to the third round in 2014. UW-Oshkosh, the three-time defending WIAC tournament champion, is one of just eight programs to win at least one game in each of the past three Division III Women's Basketball Championships.

In the victory over John Carroll University, a jumper by Pitt gave UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 13-11 midway through the first quarter. The basket ignited a string of 15 unanswered points by the Titans during a stretch of nearly seven minutes that spanned the first two periods.

The Titans made 6 of 10 shots from the floor during their 15-0 scoring run while the Blue Streaks missed 11 consecutive field goal attempts and four straight from the free throw line. John Carroll University trailed by at least 11 points for the final 21:32 of the contest.

A three-point play by Eliza Campbell gave UW-Oshkosh a 45-23 lead early in the third quarter and a pair of free throws by Moe provided the Titans a 51-31 advantage entering the final period.

John Carroll University's Katlyn Spahar led all players with 15 points on 4 of 18 shooting from the field. She six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Shmoo Pryor recorded 14 points, two rebounds and two assists for the Blue Streaks while Chelbi Graham registered six rebounds.

John Carroll University (3-7), which lost its third straight game, had scored at least 59 points in each of its first eight contests this season.

UW-Oshkosh, making the first trip outside the United States for regular season competition, opened the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 60-56 loss to DePauw University (Ind.) on Tuesday (Dec. 20).

The Titans return stateside to play a pair of games in Wisconsin Dells next week. UW-Oshkosh will take on Minnesota institutions Carleton College on Dec. 29 and Bethel University on Dec. 30.