OSHKOSH, Wis.- Powered by a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double from Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) and an additional 10 points from Bridget Froehlke (Wrightstown/Wrightstown), UW-Oshkosh women's basketball defeated the University of Minnesota Morris, 63-43, in the first day of the UW-Oshkosh BSN Winter Classic at the Oshkosh Arena on Sunday (Dec. 28).
 
The Titans, ranked third in NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and fourth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, improved to 10-0 on the season and 2-0 against the Cougars since the programs' first meeting during the 2021-22 campaign. With the 20-point win, they have posted final deficits of at least 20 points in six of nine contests and held opponents to less than 50 points in seven. The 10-0 start to the season marks the 10th time in program history that UW-Oshkosh has begun a campaign with at least 10 consecutive wins and the second time in the last two years (17-0 to begin 2024-25).
 
Oshkosh's defense induced 24 turnovers and recorded nine steals while using the opportunities to score 30 points on the takeaways. The Titans added 28 points in the paint, 17 off the bench, 15 on fast breaks. On a total of 40 rebounds, they had 18 offensive boards and scored 12 points on second chances.
 
Across the game, the Titans shot 35.4 percent (23-of-65) from the field, 23.3 percent (7-of-30) from 3, and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the line while holding Minnesota Morris to season lows of 31.6 percent (12-of-38) shooting from the field and 43 points.
 
The Cougars jumped on the board first and the lead changed six times throughout the first quarter. Oshkosh used a pair of baskets by Seckar to briefly claim a 4-2 edge before Minnesota Morris swapped the lead with a 3-pointer that Seckar followed with her third score of the day. She tacked on two free throws to make the score 8-5 with 5:03 in the period. Mayah Holzhueter (Cambridge/Cambridge) became the first Titan not named Seckar to score at 1:58 when she converted a layup for the fifth lead change at 10-9. With three seconds remaining in the first quarter, Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) tied the score at 12-12 on a pair of shots from the line.
 
Oshkosh dominated the second quarter by outscoring the Cougars, 20-6, and forcing eight turnovers, scoring on eight. Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) broke the 12-all tie with her first of two 3-pointers and the Titans never relinquished the lead. After the Cougars brought the score within a point at 19-18 with 4:19 to play in the half, Oshkosh closed out the period on a 13-0 run that included two 3-pointers from Froehlke and another from Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove). Keeping with the game's trend, Seckar recorded the other four points with a pair of layups in the final two minutes. Oshkosh led by 14 points through 20 minutes.
 
After Minnesota Morris used a trio of free throws to cancel out another Poole 3-pointer, Oshkosh used an and-1 layup by Seckar and Beyer's second basket from beyond the arc to make the score 41-23 at 6:58. Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) later followed a good jumper by Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger) with a layup, however the Cougars cut the deficit to 13 points with a 5-1 spurt. Froehlke extended the edge to 50-34 before the buzzer on another 3.
 
The Cougars strung together a trio of 3-point runs in the fourth quarter but couldn't manage any more offense. Meanwhile, Oshkosh used two Poole free throws and an Olivia Argall (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) layup to retain its double-digit lead through the halfway mark. Argall started a 9-0 run over the final 3:19 of play with an and-1 layup and closed out the contest with another layup. In the middle of the run, the Titans got layups from Seckar and Hardwick.
 
Seckar shot 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line for a game-high 17 points while recording 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year and adding two assists and a career-best four steals.
 
Froehlke scored her 10 points on 3-of-10 from three with a free throw and led all players with four assists.
 
Joining Seckar under the board, Hardwick tallied 10 rebounds to go with her six points. Argall finished the game with nine points on 4-of-9 from the field and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe.
 
The Titans wrap up their nonconference slate against UW-Superior (2-8). Oshkosh is 63-6 against the Yellowjackets all-time and has won six of the last seven matchups between the former WIAC opponents who have not faced off since the 2015-16 season.