OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team overcame a slow start to Wednesday night's (Feb. 19) matchup with UW-Eau Claire and eventually mounted a 64-42 victory over the Blugolds to earn a share of the 2025 WIAC regular season title.
 
Just under 70 miles northwest of Kolf Sports Center, UW-Stevens Point defeated UW-Stout, 85-71, to ensure the Titans took sole possession of the league crown.
 
UW-Oshkosh, ranked seventh in the nation by D3hoops.com and 11th by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, has now won five regular season titles in a nine-year span under head coach Brad Fischer.
 
The Titans secured home-court advantage in the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) and will host the lowest remaining seed of the Feb. 25 first round games at Kolf Sports Center at 7 p.m. for a semifinal matchup on Feb. 27. The semifinal winners play at the highest remaining seed on March 1 and the league tournament champion earns the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
 
The Titans (22-2, 11-2 WIAC) shot 40.4 percent (23-of-37) from the field including 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from three, and 90.9 percent (10-of-11) from the line in the contest. They led the Blugolds (8-16, 3-10 WIAC) from the field and the line. Oshkosh also held a 26 to 18 edge in points in the paint, 13 to five in points off turnovers, 11 to seven in second chance points, and 21 to 10 in bench points.
 
Forty rebounds for Oshkosh led Eau Claire's 32, while it led 13 to seven in assists, four to two in blocks, and seven to four in steals while committing nine turnovers to the Blugolds' 12.
 
Kayce Vaile (Fifth • Greendale) led all players with 19 points and 16 rebounds (six offensive), shooting 7-of-12 from the field and sinking all five of her free throw attempts.
 
Kate Huml (Jr. • Janesville) and Sammi Beyer (So. • Appleton) combined for an additional 21 points with 11 from Huml and 10 from Beyer. Huml, Avery Poole (Jr. • Cottage Grove), and Paige Seckar (Fr. • Oshkosh) each recorded three assists.
 
The Titans scored the first five points of the game as Vaile registered a layup and two free throws while Sarah Hardwick (Jr. • Green Bay) hit a free throw. A trio of Blugold 3-pointers pulled Eau Claire to an 8-8 tie with 3:58 left in the opening quarter and it trailed by four points after 10 minutes of play.
 
UW-Oshkosh fought off the Blugolds' attack through the first five minutes of the second period, however a jumper with 4:21 left before halftime handed Eau Claire its first lead of the game. The lead changed hands twice more during the quarter and the Titans clawed back from a 6-point deficit on a layup and two free throws to trail by a pair of points, 31-29, after 20 minutes and with 20 to play.
 
Huml tied the score with a jump shot out of the locker room. Poole hit a three and Huml added a layup and another three to make the score 39-31 before Eau Claire scored its first points of the second half. After a Blugold basket from beyond the boundary, Hardwick started a 7-0 run that ran through the end of the third quarter with a layup. UW-Oshkosh paced UW-Eau Claire, 49-36, with 10 minutes to play.
 
The teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter, however Oshkosh held Eau Claire scoreless for more than six minutes in the back half of the period while scoring seven points to extend its lead to 62-39 with 2:25 to go. Hope Barington's (So. • Sobieski) layup with 33 seconds remaining put Oshkosh up a game high 24 points before a Blugold jumper with four seconds to go made the final score 64-42.
 
The Titans will face the No. 19/receiving votes Blue Devils on the road on Saturday at 3 p.m. In the teams' first game of the year in Oshkosh on Jan. 4, UW-Oshkosh won by a 67-57 score.