Titans' NCAA Postseason Journey Ends In Sweet 16
Taylor Schmidt's 14 points and career-high nine assists were not enough as host Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) defeated UW-Oshkosh, 68-56, during a Sweet 16 matchup of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday (March 10).
Washington University (26-2), ranked sixth in the country by D3hoops.com, scored the first 10 points of the game before 13th-ranked UW-Oshkosh (26-4) rallied to tie the score at 12 with 3:18 left in the opening quarter.
Zoe Vernon drained a 3-point shot to give the Bears a 15-12 advantage at the 2:48 mark of the first quarter, and Washington University maintained a lead for the remainder of the contest.
UW-Oshkosh scored the first six points of the second half to trim its deficit to 32-26. Holding a 49-43 lead heading into the fourth period, Washington University made all eight of its free throw attempts in the last 42 seconds to preserve the victory. The Bears led by at least six points for the final 22:13 of action.
Washington University, which owns a division-leading five national titles, hosts Tufts University (Mass.) on Saturday (March 11) for the right to advance to the Final Four in Grand Rapids, Mich. Tufts University (28-2) ousted University of Scranton (Pa.) (26-4), 65-48, on Friday in St. Louis.
UW-Oshkosh was making its second Sweet 16 appearance in the past four seasons and its seventh trip to the third round in program history. The Titans are one of eight teams to win at least one game during each of the last four Division III tournaments.
Washington University extended its home winning streak to 21 games. The Bears have won 67 of their last 70 home games since 2012.
Washington University concluded Friday's contest with advantages in field goal (.473 to .383), 3-point (.571 to .136) and free throw (.889 to .583) percentages to go along with leads of 39-30 rebounds and 19-12 in assists. The Bears were one 3-point basket shy of tying a season high, connecting on 8 of 14 shots from long range.
UW-Oshkosh held advantages of 16-10 in turnovers and 8-3 in assists, but the Titans shot 3-for-22 from 3-point range, including 0-for-12 during the second half.
Washington University entered the game ranked 11th in the country by scoring 77.6 points per contest while UW-Oshkosh ranked 12th by allowing 49.9 points per game. The Titans and Bears also ranked second nationally in turnovers per game (11.9) and field goal percentage (.465), respectively.
The Bears' Madeline Homoly, a transfer from NCAA Division I University of South Dakota, scored 16 of her game-high 20 points in the second half. She finished the game shooting 8-for-13 from the field in 25 minutes off the bench.
Zoe Vernon, a Division I transfer from Winthrop University (S.C.), had 14 points and seven rebounds for Washington University, which also received eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds from Lily Sarros.
Schmidt's 14 points for the Titans moved her into fifth place on UW-Oshkosh's all-time scoring list with 1,281 during her career. Schmidt, who started each of UW-Oshkosh's 119 games over the past four seasons, also capped her career as the program's leader in free throws made (401) and attempted (513).
Madeline Staples added a season-high 11 points in 18 minutes off the UW-Oshkosh bench. She connected on 5 of 7 shots from the field and collected three rebounds.
Eliza Campbell contributed seven points for the Titans while Alex Richard had six points and five rebounds, and reserves Jaimee Pitt and Olivia Campbell recorded five points apiece. Morgan Kokta registered four points and pulled down a team-leading six rebounds.
UW-Oshkosh missed its first seven field goal attempts before Pitt knocked down a jumper to trim the Titans' deficit to 10-2 with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. Homoly answered with a basket on the ensuing Bears possession, but UW-Oshkosh tallied 10 consecutive points to knot the score at 12.
Schmidt sparked the run with a pair of free throws before adding a three-point play less than one minute later. A layup by Staples cut Washington University's lead to 12-9, and Pitt drilled a 3-pointer to tie the score.
A layup by Homoly gave the Bears a 17-12 lead after a first quarter in which Washington University shot 46.7 percent (7-15) from the field, including 60 percent (3-5) from 3-point range. UW-Oshkosh shot 26.7 percent (4-15) from the floor during the opening period.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Eliza Campbell and Schmidt pulled the Titans within 21-18 early in the second quarter, but UW-Oshkosh made one of its last seven shots and committed four turnovers during the last eight minutes of the session as Washington University held a 32-20 advantage at intermission.
The Titans cut the Washington University lead to six points on seven occasions during the second half. UW-Oshkosh trailed by scores of 53-47 and 55-49 in the fourth period following layups by Richard, but Natalie Orr hit a 3-pointer to extend the Bear lead to 58-49 with 4:17 left, and a layup by Sarros pushed the Washington University advantage to 60-49 with 77 seconds remaining.
UW-Oshkosh's senior trio of Kokta, Richard and Schmidt produced a 98-21 record over the past four seasons. This season, the Titans secured their first WIAC title since 2006 and their first outright league championship since 1999.
The Titans, who claimed the 1996 Division III championship, also reached the third round of the NCAA postseason in 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2014. UW-Oshkosh has compiled a 27-13 record during 14 appearances in the national tournament.
UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference
Washington University Postgame Press Conference
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Interactive Bracket
Photo courtesy of Danny Reise, Washington University in St. Louis