OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball, led by Kate Huml with 18 points, defeated UW-Stout at Kolf Sports Center in the Titans' first WIAC game of the campaign on Saturday (Jan. 4).
 
The Titans (12-0, 1-0 WIAC), ranked No. 5 in the nation by D3hoops.com and No. 8 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), got back at the Blue Devils (9-3, 0-1 WIAC) after falling in the 2024 WIAC championship game at home, winning 67-57 and trailing just once.
 
Oshkosh shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the field, 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from three, and 72.2 percent (13-of-18) from the charity stripe, leading from the field and three. The Titans also pulled down 31 rebounds to the Blue Devils' 28, notched 13 assists to Stout's six, and stole six possessions to Stout's five.
 
Huml (Jr. • Janesville) shot 8-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line for 18 points, a season high and the most among all of Oshkosh's scorers on the day.
 
Sarah Hardwick (Jr. • Green Bay) and Paige Seckar (Fr. • Oshkosh) also reached double-digit points with 15 and 10 while Hardwick matched her point total with 15 rebounds (seven offensive).
 
Sammi Beyer (So. • Appleton) led the Titans with four assists, Huml and Alex Rondorf (Grad.• West Bend) notched a pair of steals, and Hardwick recorded both of Oshkosh's blocked shots.
 
UW-Stout scored first on a 3-pointer after winning the opening tip-off and responded to a Kayce Vaile (Fifth • Greendale) layup with five more points. The Titans fought to a 3-point deficit at 10-7 before holding Stout scoreless between 4:44 in the first quarter to 5:14 left in the second; nearly 10 minutes of Oshkosh scoring that included 18 Titan points. Seckar, Huml, and Vaile all recorded four points in the run and Rondorf, Hardwick, and Avery Poole (Jr. • Cottage Grove) each tallied two points.
 
UW-Oshkosh led 25-12 just over five minutes left in the second quarter, however the Blue Devils shot 5-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from the line for 14 points against Oshkosh's four to cut the deficit to 29-26 by halftime.
 
The Titans scored the first nine points of the second half, leading 38-26 before Stout recorded a driving layup with 4:28 remaining for its first points after halftime. The teams traded baskets until a Blue Devil layup and two free throws made the score 44-36 going into quarter four.
 
In a closely-contested quarter that saw the Titans score 23 points and the Blue Devils score 21, UW-Oshkosh shot a 61.5 percent clip (8-of-13) from the field and 87.5 percent mark (7-of-8) from the line. Stout turned in runs of four and seven points while Oshkosh went 6-0 between 7:40 and 5:04 in the period, keeping the Blue Devils at arm's reach.
 
The Titans' largest lead of the game came with a 65-48 score with 1:17 remaining in the game, later leading by 12 after a pair of Huml free throws before Stout cut their lead to 10 points with 10 seconds to go.
 
The Titans head to Eau Claire to face the Blugolds (6-6, 1-0 WIAC) next on Wednesday (Jan. 7). The WIAC foes are 5-5 against each other in the last 10 matchups and have traded each of the last six contests.