Titans, Warhawks To Clash In Nationally Ranked Matchup

UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-Whitewater for a battle of nationally ranked women's basketball programs on Wednesday (Jan. 18). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Kachel Gymnasium.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, and 20th-ranked UW-Whitewater both enter the matchup with 14-1 records and 4-0 marks in WIAC play. The winner of Wednesday's clash assumes sole possession of first place in the WIAC standings.

The clash will feature UW-Whitewater's WIAC-leading offense that scores 70.5 points per game against UW-Oshkosh's defense that ranks third nationally by ceding an average of 44.8 points. The Titans also lead the country by committing just 11.9 turnovers per contest.

The Titans, who have won three straight meetings with UW-Whitewater, swept last year's season series with victories of 60-57 in Oshkosh and 79-66 in Whitewater. UW-Oshkosh also ousted the Warhawks, 66-59, during the first round of the 2015 WIAC Championship. UW-Oshkosh has not won four straight games over UW-Whitewater since a string of 16 consecutive victories from 2000-06.

UW-Oshkosh was projected to claim the WIAC title in a preseason poll conducted by the league's head coaches and sports information directors while UW-Whitewater was picked the finish third.

The Titans enter Wednesday's battle on a seven-game winning streak since suffering their lone loss against DePauw University (Ind.), 60-56, on Dec. 20 in Puerto Rico. The Warhawks have a current six-game winnings streak since an 86-78 setback at Augustana College (Ill.) on Dec. 20.

UW-Whitewater is unbeaten in four home games this season while UW-Oshkosh has won each of its four road contests.

UW-Oshkosh is also leading the WIAC in averaging scoring margin (+22.3), field goal percentage (.426), field goal percentage defense (.328), 3-point percentage (.359), rebounding margin (+7.1), assists per game (12.4), turnover margin (+6.1) and 3-pointers (108).

UW-Whitewater is also the conference leader by holding teams to 28 percent shooting from beyond the 3-point arc and creating 10.9 steals per game.

The Titans are led by senior guard Taylor Schmidt and junior forward Eliza Campbell. Schmidt averages a team-best 12.2 points per game while Campbell follows at 11.8.

Schmidt, who has scored double-figure points 12 times this season, also paces UW-Oshkosh with 25 steals and leads the conference with 24 3-pointers. Over the past two games, Schmidt has connected on 13 of 19 shots from the floor and scored 38 points, including a season-high 20 against UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Jan. 14).

Campbell averages 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Senior forward Alex Richard adds 7.2 points and a team-leading 6.9 rebounds per contest for UW-Oshkosh, which also receives 6.7 points per game from freshman guard Kylie Moe.

UW-Oshkosh junior guard Emma Melotik has scored 5.3 points per contest and ranks second on the squad with 21 3-pointers. Senior guard Morgan Kokta chips in 5.1 points per game while adding a team-leading 33 assists.

Moe leads the conference by draining 50 percent (19-38) of her attempts from 3-point range. Richard (.523) and Campbell (.522) rank second and third in the league, respectively, in field goal percentage.

UW-Oshkosh has held 13 of its 15 opponents this season to fewer than 59 points while UW-Whitewater has tallied at least 63 points during each of its 15 games.

Junior guard Brooke Trewyn leads the high-scoring Warhawks with a conference-best 15.5 points per game, followed by junior guard Malia Smith at 13.0 points per contest, senior guard Reilly Stewart at 10.4, Andrea Meinert at 9.7 and freshman guard Becky Raeder at 5.7.

Smith's 42 steals pace the WIAC and her 32 assists lead the team. Stewart leads the league with an .881 (37-42) free throw percentage and ranks second in the conference by shooting 47.7 percent (21-44) from 3-point range while shooting a team-best 48.5 percent (49-101) from the field.

Meinert and Trewyn are UW-Whitewater's rebounding leaders at 6.2 and 6.1 per game, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh owns an all-time record of 56-36 against UW-Whitewater.