UW-Stout's Lizzy Olsem made the game-winning layup with eight seconds remaining as the Blue Devils pulled out a 58-56 win over the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team Saturday (Feb. 5) in Menomonie.

UW-Oshkosh knotted the score for the seventh and final time at 56 on a Jenna Jorgensen jumper with 23 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Jorgensen then notched a steal six seconds later, but her ensuing layup was blocked by Lauren Arenz, setting up Olsem's winning basket in the paint. The Titans then had Jorgensen's attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer come up short just before the buzzer.

UW-Stout, which has won just three of its past 19 meetings with the Titans, improved to 12-8 on the year, including 7-3 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests, while UW-Oshkosh fell to 15-5 overall and 4-4 in WIAC play.

Amanda Giesen had a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds for the Blue Devils, who also received 10 points, eight boards and four assists from Anna Mutch; nine points and four assists from Sam Schaeffer; nine points and three steals from Raegan Sorensen; and eight points from Olsem.

Jorgensen paced the Titans with 15 points while Abby Kaiser added 11, Julia Silloway eight, Ava Douglas seven, Nikki Arneson six and Kennedy Osterman five. Kaiser and Silloway grabbed a team-leading five rebounds apiece. Jorgensen had a team-best three steals and two assists.

UW-Stout went 24 of 56 (.429) from the field, 1-for-10 (.100) from 3-point range and 9-for-11 (.818) at the free throw line. The Blue Devils, who entered Saturday ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III with a .450 field goal percentage, held advantages of 43-27 in rebounds, 11-5 in offensive boards, 14-6 in assists and 5-0 in blocks.

UW-Oshkosh shot 40.7% (24-59) from the floor, 13.6% (3-22) from beyond the 3-point arc and 50% (5-10) at the foul line. The Titans had edges of 10-17 in turnovers and 8-5 in steals after heading into the day leading the country with 10.7 turnovers per game and ranked eighth nationally by allowing 48.1 points per contest.

UW-Stout scored the first six points of the game and did not trail until a Kaiser layup provided the Titans a short-lived 13-12 lead with 54 seconds left in the opening quarter. Giesen answered with a layup of her own 17 seconds later as the Blue Devils went on to own leads of 14-13 after one quarter and 30-27 at halftime.

A Claire Staples layup in the waning seconds of the third quarter gave UW-Oshkosh a 44-43 entering the final period, but Mutch later scored in the paint for a 47-45 Blue Devils edge with 8:41 to play before a Schaeffer 3-pointer and a Giesen layup extended the UW-Stout lead to 52-45 at the 6:07 mark.

Trailing 54-47 with under four minutes left, UW-Oshkosh pulled within two points following a Jorgensen 3-pointer and a pair of Kaiser free throws. A Mutch jumper upped the Blue Devils lead back to 56-52. However, Arneson recorded a steal and layup to trim the UW-Oshkosh deficit to 56-54 with under two minutes to go, and Jorgensen tied the score at 56 with her jumper with 23 ticks remaining. Olsem's game-winning layup ended a string of four consecutive UW-Stout scoreless possessions that included three turnovers.

The first scheduled meeting this season between UW-Oshkosh and Stout – Jan. 15 in Oshkosh – was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

UW-Oshkosh returns home to host UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (Feb. 9) in Kolf Sports Center.

Photo courtesy of Layne Pitt, UW-Stout Sports Information