FOREST GROVE, Ore.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball wrapped up its trip to Oregon with a 51-39 win over Pacific University (Ore.) at the Boxers' Stoller Center on Saturday (Dec. 6). Saturday's game was the first-ever meeting between the programs.
 
Ranked third in NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and fourth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, the Titans (7-0) held the Boxers (4-3, 0-1 NWC) to single-digit points in three of the four quarters and scored 12 points off Pacific's 17 turnovers that included three steals. The win was the fourth in five games in which the Titans held their opponent to less than 40 points.
 
Oshkosh shot 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the field, made a three, and went 6-of-12 from the line while holding Pacific to 33.3 percent (16-of-48) from the field and to two free throws.
 
The Titans held additional advantages in rebounds (43-32), assists (11-7), blocks (6-3), and steals (3-2). They recorded 38 points in the paint, 15 on second chances and 12 off the bench.
 
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) made a quick layup after the Titans won the tip and added a jumper before the Boxers got on the board. Between sets of traded points, Oshkosh tacked on six straight on two Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) layups and a Kate Huml (Janesville/Janesville Craig) jump shot. Hardwick made the score 14-7 with a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the period.
 
Seckar opened the second quarter in the same way she started the game. She made a jumper 19 seconds into the period and converted a layup to start Oshkosh off with a 4-0 run. The Boxers had the longest scoring run before the two-minute mark by going 5-0 to cut the deficit to 22-16, however Hardwick made a tip-in layup with 2:18 left in the half and added a layup and another layup for a solo 5-0 run.
 
Pacific made two threes and recorded a 5-0 run in the third quarter to outscore Oshkosh, 14-13. After a Boxer brought the hosts within five points by make two free throw attempts, Seckar responded with a pair of her own and Hardwick made two layups against one for Pacific in the closing 1:50 of the period to get the Titans' lead back to double figures.
 
The Boxers scored first in the fourth quarter but were held to three non-consecutive baskets the rest of the way. Slowly building up their lead, the Titans reached a game-high 15-point edge with five seconds on the clock after Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) sank and three and Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) drove into the lane for a basket. A last-second three by the Boxers created a final score of 51-39.
 
Hardwick posted season highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds (seven offensive) in the win while adding two assists, two blocks, and a steal. She shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe.
 
Seckar and Huml tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively, and Seckar recorded 11 rebounds for a double-double and blocked two shots. Beyer finished the game with a game-high five assists to go with her six points.
 
The Titans will head to Wisconsin Dells for their next two games, facing Coe College (Iowa) (6-1, 2-0 A-R-C) and Edgewood University (4-3, 3-0 NACC) in a pair of neutral site contests during the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic. Oshkosh is 1-0 against the Kohawks and 14-1 against the Eagles since the 1974-75 season.