UW-Oshkosh won its 20th game of the season with a 65-55 victory over the UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team on Wednesday (Feb. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Titans (20-2/11-2 WIAC) are ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com.

All 10 Titans scored in the contest. Ashley Neustifter topped the team with 13 points, while Taylor Schmidt added 10 and Sarah Stecker nine. Marissa Selner contributed nine points and a career-high nine rebounds.

UW-Eau Claire (6-17/4-10 WIAC) was held scoreless for the first three minutes of play. Abby Midtlien then tallied five quick points and Teenie Lichtfuss converted a lay-up to give the Blugolds a 9-8 lead.

Selner converted a three-point play to jump start a 15-3 Titan run. Morgan Kokta and Kendell Truttman sank three-pointers to put the Titans ahead by seven. Neustifter drained one from downtown with 7:56 on the clock to put UW-Oshkosh up, 23-12.

The Titans maintained a comfortable lead for most of the half, increasing the margin with a 10-2 spurt before intermission. Neustifter lined up a triple and buried it at the buzzer to give UW-Oshkosh a 35-21 lead.

UW-Eau Claire bolted out of halftime with 12 unanswered points. Midtlien and Rachel Egdorf each scored four points, with Egdorf's free throws making it 35-33 with 15:56 remaining.

Over the next 4:23, UW-Oshkosh scored 12 straight points of its own. After an Alex Richard jumper, Alicia Tollefson nailed two three-pointers from the exact same spot to give the Titans a 47-33 advantage at the 10:37 mark.

The Blugolds never got closer than seven points the rest of the night. UW-Oshkosh sealed the win with seven foul shots in the last minute.

The Titans outrebounded the Blugolds, 34-26. UW-Oshkosh totaled 40 percent shooting (18-45) from the floor, including 58 percent (7-12) from long range, and 73 percent (22-30) at the charity stripe.

UW-Eau Claire hit 41 percent (18-44) of its shots from the field, 40 percent (4-10) of its three-pointers and 79 percent (15-19) of its free throws.

Lichtfuss led her squad with 15 points, while Egdorf accumulated nine rebounds, eight points and five blocks. Courtney Lewis added six points and five assists for the Blugolds.

UW-Oshkosh welcomes 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater (20-3/14-0 WIAC) to Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Feb. 15).

By Jon Feyen