Titans Trounce Eagles In NCAA Postseason Opener
Nikki Arneson led all players with 21 points as UW-Oshkosh cruised to a 61-40 victory over Edgewood College during the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday (March 6) in Arden Hills, Minn.
UW-Oshkosh (19-10) never trailed after knotting the score at 4 with 7:57 left in the opening quarter. The Titans, who went on a pair of 7-0 runs in the first quarter, put the game away with 16 unanswered points spanning the second and third periods for a 50-22 cushion at the 4:35 mark of the third.
Edgewood College (25-3) missed eight consecutive field goal attempts and committed three turnovers during the Titans' decisive 16-0 run until the Eagles, who were held to their lowest scoring output of the season, snapped a scoreless drought of nearly eight minutes with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter.
UW-Oshkosh advances to play at 7 p.m. Saturday (March 7) against Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) for the Arden Hills Regional title. The Vikings (24-3) reached the Arden Hills Regional championship game by virtue of a 62-58 win over host Bethel University (Minn.). Bethel University (26-2), ranked sixth in the country by D3hoops.com, had its 20-game home winning streak come to an end.
Arneson, who scored 16 points in the first half, finished the game 8-for-14 from the floor and added seven rebounds for the Titans.
UW-Oshkosh's Leah Porath, the WIAC Player of the Year, had 11 points to go along with a team-leading nine rebounds and three steals while Katie Ludwig chipped in nine points off the Titan bench. Porath, averaging 17.1 points per game, has scored in double figures 32 times in the past 33 games.
All 15 Titans in uniform played and 10 scored Friday, including Claire Staples with four points, and Olivia Campbell, Brooke Freitag, Abby Kaiser and Karsyn Rueth with three each. Campbell grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a team-best three assists.
The Titans, who have won at least one game in each of their last 13 trips to the NCAA postseason, went 22 of 63 (.349) from the field, 4-for-18 (.222) from 3-point range and 13 of 18 (.722) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh held edges of 8-6 in assists, 11-18 in turnovers and 12-5 in steals. Both teams had 39 rebounds and five blocks.
Edgewood College went 15 of 56 (.268) from the floor, 2-for-20 (.100) from beyond the 3-point arc and 8-for-18 (.444) at the foul line. The Eagles' .268 field goal percentage was their second lowest of the season.
UW-Oshkosh, which has won 26 straight games when holding opponents under 60 points, entered the game leading the nation with 12.0 turnovers per game. Edgewood College, ranked sixth in the country with a 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio, had its 12-game winning streak snapped.
Alyssa Lemirande paced the Eagles with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor and three assists. Bria Lemirande added six points, a game-high 12 rebounds and a team-leading two steals for the Eagles, who were making their second NCAA trip and first since losing in the first round in 2005.
UW-Oshkosh took the lead for good during the midst of a 7-0 run for a 9-4 advantage. Edgewood College claimed its lone lead of the game at 4-2 following a pair of Bria Lemirande free throws, but Emily Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and scored in the lane for the Titans to knot the score at 4 before Arneson drained a 3-pointer that provided UW-Oshkosh a 7-4 lead it would not relinquish for the final 36:57.
The Titans, who owned a 21-15 lead after one period, extended their cushion to 25-15 on an Arneson layup with 8:11 to go in the second period and led by double digits the rest of the way, including 37-22 at intermission.
Arneson accounted for six points and Porath added five during the Titans' pivotal 16-0 run. Freitag completed a three-point play that upped the UW-Oshkosh lead to 42-22 before Arneson capped the onslaught with a three-point play of her own for a 50-22 cushion with 4:35 left in the third quarter.
UW-Oshkosh went on lead, 55-28, after three quarters and built its largest advantage of 30 points at 59-29 following a Staples jumper with 5:32 left in the game.
The Titans have won 12 of their 13 matchups with Edgewood College since 1995.
UW-Oshkosh, the 1996 national champion and 1995 runner-up, improved to 30-14 in 16 trips to the Division III Championship. The Titans, the 16th program to reach 30 NCAA postseason wins, advanced to the third round in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2014, 2017 and 2019.
Bethany Lutheran College earned its first NCAA tournament victory Friday. The Vikings are embarking on their second straight and second overall trip to the Division III Championship.
The Titans, making their six Division III Championship appearance in the last seven years, have won both of the two meetings with Bethany Lutheran College since the 1986-87 campaign, including an 87-44 decision in the most recent matchup Dec. 19, 2009.
UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Arden Hills Regional Website
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball • NCAA.com Website
NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Interactive Bracket
2020 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Digital Program
Photos courtesy of Caleb Williams, d3photography.com