Olivia Campbell scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, both team bests, against the Blugolds.

Blugolds Pull Out Last-Minute Win Over Titans

UW-Oshkosh

(11-9, 4-5 WIAC)

UW-Eau Claire

(13-7, 7-2 WIAC)

Final

UW-Oshkosh (11-9, 4-5 WIAC)

UW-Eau Claire (13-7, 7-2 WIAC)

Hallee Hoeppner scored 18 of her game-high 22 points in the second half to lift UW-Eau Claire to a 66-62 win over the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team Wednesday (Feb. 5) in Eau Claire.

UW-Oshkosh (11-9, 4-5 WIAC) reclaimed a 61-60 lead following a Karsyn Rueth 3-pointer with 1:16 left in the game before Hoeppner answered with a go-ahead jumper 36 seconds later. UW-Oshkosh committed a turnover on its ensuing possession, and Hoeppner hit a pair of free throws that extended UW-Eau Claire's lead to 64-61 with 28 seconds remaining. Both teams then exchanged free throws as the Blugolds clung to a 65-62 advantage with 11 seconds to go.

With a chance to tie in the waning seconds, UW-Oshkosh was whistled for a foul, and Hoeppner split a pair of free throws to provide the final score with under a second left as the Blugolds hung on to sweep the season series over the Titans. UW-Eau Claire also defeated the Titans, 62-60, Jan. 15 in Oshkosh.

UW-Eau Claire (13-7, 7-2 WIAC) remains second in the league standings – one game behind UW-Whitewater (18-2, 8-1) – while UW-Oshkosh, the defending conference champion, stays tied for fourth with five games to play.

Hoeppner, the reigning WIAC Player of the Year, finished the game shooting 7-for-13 from the field at 6-for-7 at the free throw line for the Blugolds, including 5-for-7 from the floor during the second half. She went into Wednesday leading the WIAC with a .522 field goal percentage and ranked second in the league at 15.5 points per game.

UW-Eau Claire had four double-digit scorers as Katie Essen added 14 points, Jessie Ruden 11 and Anna Graaskamp 10. Ruden knocked down three 3-pointers and dished out a team-high four assists. Kelsey Bakken rounded out the Blugolds' starting lineup with two points and a game-leading nine rebounds.

Olivia Campbell led UW-Oshkosh with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. She went 6-for-11 from the field on the way to pacing the Titans in scoring for the second time this season.

WIAC leading scorer Leah Porath had 13 points and five rebounds for UW-Oshkosh, which also received 12 points and four assists from Nikki Arneson, and seven points from Rueth. Porath, who scored in double figures for the 24th straight game, went into the night averaging 18.8 points per contest. Porath scored each of her points during the first half while Arneson and Campbell both had nine points after intermission.

UW-Eau Claire shot 45.1 percent (23-51) from the field, 35.3 percent (6-17) from 3-point range and 93.3 percent (14-15) at the free throw line. The Blugolds, who established a season low for turnovers, held advantages of 16-9 in assists, 7-10 in turnovers and 3-2 in blocks. Both teams recorded three steals.

UW-Oshkosh went 22 of 51 (.431) from the floor, 8-for-20 (.400) from beyond the 3-point arc and 10 of 12 (.833) at the foul line. The Titans, who owned a 33-28 rebounding edge, were leading the entire NCAA Division III with 11.8 turnovers per game.

The Blugolds held a 21-20 lead after a first quarter in which UW-Eau Claire outshot the Titans, 57.1 to 41.2 percent from the field. Neither team led by more than four points until Ellie Clayton made a pair of free throws to extend UW-Eau Claire's advantage to 34-28 with 1:07 left in the second quarter. Porath and Essen then traded layups in the final minute of the first half as the Blugolds maintained a 36-32 lead at intermission.

A Hoeppner 3-pointer gave the Blugolds their largest lead of the night at 39-32 with 8:30 to go in the third quarter, but the Titans responded with a 10-2 run during a span of nearly five minutes to reclaim a 42-41 advantage. UW-Oshkosh's run began with an Emily Miller layup at the 8:12 mark, included five straight points from Arneson and a go-ahead layup from Campbell before Hoeppner provided UW-Eau Claire a 44-42 lead following a 3-pointer with 3:34 left in the third period.

Tied at 47 entering the fourth quarter, the teams traded the lead seven times in the final period. Rueth knocked down a jumper as the Titans took a 55-53 edge with 4:07 to play, but Ruden buried a 3-pointer 24 seconds later for a 56-55 Blugold lead. Campbell tied the score at 58 following a 3-pointer with 2:46 remaining, and Rueth's long-range jumper for a 61-60 advantage with 76 seconds to go marked the sixth lead change of the quarter.

UW-Oshkosh returns home to face UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Feb. 8) in Kolf Sports Center. UW-La Crosse (15-5, 6-3 WIAC), ranked 23rd in the country by D3hoops.com, defeated the Titans by a 71-57 score Jan. 4 in La Crosse.