OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball opened its home schedule on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 22) with an 84-59 win over Wheaton College (Ill.).
 
Ranked third in the nation by D3hoops.com and fourth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the Titans' (5-0) 84 points were the most scored in a single game since defeating UW-River Falls, 88-49, at home on February 22, 2020.
 
UW-Oshkosh scored at a .481 clip from the field (26-of-54) and 50 percent clip from three (12-of-24) while converting 20 free throws to the Thunder's 10. Thirty-six of Oshkosh's points were recorded by reserve players, 28 were tallied in the paint, 17 were scored on fast breaks, and 15 came off turnovers. Titan players dished out 19 assists in the wire-to-wire win.
 
Defensively, Oshkosh held a 35-23 advantage in rebounds, induced 18 turnovers including 10 steals, and blocked a shot.
 
With the win, the Titans move to a 6-4 all-time record against Wheaton, including four of the last five and each of the last two, both of which were played at Kolf Sports Center.
 
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) made a layup in the first possession of the game after Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) won the opening tip. Seckar added three points with a free throw and a layup before Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) hit a three to create an 8-0 lead and force Wheaton to call its first timeout. The Thunder climbed back within two points on back-to-back three-pointers and answered Seckar's second layup with a jumper to keep it close. The Titans held Wheaton to three non-consecutive baskets in the last five minutes of the first quarter and added runs of four and three points to lead, 23-13, after the first period.
 
Wheaton opened the second quarter by cutting the deficit to five points, however a Mayah Holzhueter (Cambridge/Cambridge) layup and consecutive three-pointers for Olivia Argall (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) increased the edge to 14 points after Poole connected on her second three of the day. Trading baskets for most of the quarter, the Thunder got back within 10 points with six seconds left in the half before Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) connected on a deep last-second three to send the teams to the locker room with a 46-33 score.
 
The Titans started the third quarter on a seven-point tear. Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) made two layups and Seckar converted a shot from beyond the arc in the run. After Wheaton scored its first points of the half, Oshkosh went 8-0 when Argall made another three, Holzhueter made an and-one layup, and Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) sunk two free throw attempts. The Thunder put together four points in a row around the two-minute mark, making the score 63-43 with 1:40 on the clock, but that was the closest the score was for the rest of the game. Oshkosh outscored the Thunder, 5-3, down the stretch of the quarter, all on free throws. Barington added three more and Seckar made two with three seconds left.
 
The fourth quarter was closely-contested as the Titans outscored the Thunder, 16-15. Wheaton never scored more than five points in a row and held the Titans to the same. Between 7:06 and 5:52 remaining, Oshkosh scored on a layup and a free through from Kate Huml (Janesville/Janesville Craig) and two free throws from Beyer. Addie Hefel (Galena, Ill./Galena) tallied the Titans' final points of the night with 38 seconds on the clock when she connected for her first three-pointer as a Titan.
 
After the game ended, the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship semifinalist team was presented their commemorative rings by head coach Brad Fischer.
 
Seckar paced all scorers with 16 points on Saturday, going 6-of-11 from the field, 1-of-1 from three, and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe and recorded five rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 27 minutes on the court.
 
Argall and Barington joined Seckar in double-digit scoring with 11 points apiece.
 
Argall, making her first career start, did not miss an attempt as she tied her career-high mark. She made all three field goal attempts, all from three, and added two free throws while adding a rebound, two assists, a block, and a steal.
 
Barington went 2-of-4 from the field, 1-of-1 from three, and a career-best 6-of-8 from the line.
 
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) dished out a career-high nine assists and matched the tally with nine points.
 
The Titans will head to the Pacific coast for their next two games. They will play Linfield University (Ore.) (3-0) at the Wildcats' Ted Wilson Gymnasium at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, December 5 and Pacific University (Ore.) (3-1) at the Boxers' Stoller Center at 4 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, December 6.