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Jaimee Pitt scored nine of her 11 points during the first two quarters to help UW-Oshkosh take a 37-29 lead over UW-La Crosse to intermission.
Jaimee Pitt scored nine of her 11 points during the first two quarters to help UW-Oshkosh take a 37-29 lead over UW-La Crosse to intermission.

Titans Extend WIAC Lead With Win Over Eagles

Box Score

Morgan Kokta and Taylor Schmidt had 14 points apiece as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team pulled away for a 71-64 victory at UW-La Crosse on Wednesday (Feb. 8).

UW-La Crosse cut its deficit to 65-64 with 67 seconds remaining, but Kokta and Schmidt combined to shoot 6-for-6 at the free throw line over the final 17 seconds. The Eagles managed just one field goal attempt and committed a pair of turnovers during the final minute.

Schmidt recorded a steal and converted two free throws to give the Titans a 67-64 lead with 17 seconds left before Kokta notched a steal and connected on a pair of free throws following an intentional foul with 10 seconds to go. Kokta then concluded the scoring with another two free throws with one second remaining.

UW-Oshkosh (20-2, 10-1 WIAC), ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, won its sixth straight game over UW-La Crosse and secured its ninth victory over the Eagles in the past 10 meetings. The Titans also defeated UW-La Crosse, 51-49 in overtime, on Jan. 25 in Oshkosh.

The Titans now have a two-game lead in the WIAC standings over 24th-ranked UW-Whitewater (18-4, 8-3 WIAC) with three league games remaining after UW-Stevens Point (15-7, 7-4) defeated UW-Whitewater by a 75-57 score on Wednesday.

UW-Oshkosh, which reached 20 wins for the fifth consecutive season, can clinch at least a share of its first WIAC title since 2006 with a win at UW-Platteville on Saturday (Feb. 11).

In their victory over UW-La Crosse, the Titans committed just eight turnovers while the Eagles had 15 miscues, including 12 on steals by UW-Oshkosh. UW-Oshkosh entered the game ranked second nationally with 11.8 turnovers per game.

UW-La Crosse led on just one occasion, early in the second quarter, despite concluding the game with advantages in field goal (.440 to .417) and free throw (.824 to .682) percentages as well as rebounds (37-28).

Kokta matched her season-best scoring performance by connecting on 4 of 8 shots from the floor and all six of her free throws. She added four steals and a team-leading three assists.

Schmidt, who moved into ninth place on UW-Oshkosh's career scoring list with 1,201 points, registered her 16th double-digit point total of the season after shooting 4-for-10 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and 4-for-6 at the foul line while collecting four steals.

Alex Richard contributed 11 points and a team-leading five rebounds for the Titans, who also received 11 points from Jaimee Pitt and eight points from Eliza Campbell.

UW-Oshkosh scored on its first three possessions as Richard recorded a pair of baskets and Emma Melotik made a 3-pointer. UW-La Crosse tied the score at 14 on a 3-pointer from Rachel Atchison, and a basket at the buzzer by Kylee Marks pulled the Eagles within 17-16 after one quarter.

A three-point play by Delaney Schoenenberger gave UW-La Crosse with its lone lead of the game at 21-20 with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, but the Titans responded with eight straight points to reclaim a 28-21 advantage on a layup from Madeline Staples at the 5:39 mark.

Atchison drove for a layup to pull UW-La Crosse within 32-29 late in the first half before Pitt drilled a 3-pointer and Kokta made a pair of free throws to provide UW-Oshkosh a 37-29 lead at intermission.

UW-Oshkosh built its largest lead of 10 points at 47-37 with 3:19 left in the third quarter on a basket by Isabella Samuels, but the Eagles scored nine straight points to cut their deficit to 47-46 with 61 seconds to play in the period. However, Richard converted a three-point play to increase the Titans' lead to 50-46 entering the final stanza.

MaKenzie Miller accounted for the Eagles' first six points of the fourth quarter to pull her team within 52-50, and a 3-pointer from UW-La Crosse's Elise DeNoyer tied the score at 55 with 6:24 to play.

Kylie Moe, who went into the game leading the WIAC by shooting 48.2 percent from 3-point range, drilled a long-range jumper to give UW-Oshkosh a 58-55 edge at the 6:04 mark, and the Titans held a lead the rest of the way.

UW-La Crosse pulled within one point on three occasions over the final 3:04. Atchison drained two free throws to trim the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 61-60, a basket from DeNoyer pulled the Eagles within 63-62 with just over two minutes left and two free throws by Miller made the score 65-64 with 67 seconds to play.

UW-La Crosse's DeNoyer led all players with 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line. She also counted eight rebounds.

Miller had 12 points and 13 rebounds to record her ninth consecutive double-double for the Eagles. She went into the game leading the WIAC with 8.5 rebounds per game while DeNoyer was second at 8.0.

Atchison and Schoenenberger contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the UW-La Crosse bench.

UW-Oshkosh plays its final road game of the regular season at UW-Platteville on Saturday. The Titans have a nine-game winning streak over the Pioneers, including a 72-51 victory on Jan. 11 in Oshkosh.