OSHKOSH, Wis- The Titans took on the Eagles of UW-La Crosse on Wednesday night (Feb. 27) at Kolf Sports Center in the semifinal round of the WIAC Tournament (Presented by Culver's). The Titans emerged victorious, downing the Eagles, 59-47.
 
Oshkosh (23-3), ranked 10th in the nation by D3hoops.com and 14th by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, shot well from both areas of the field, going 22-of-50 (44 percent) from the field and 8-of-16 (50 percent)from three. The Titans also outrebounded the Eagles (16-11) 37 to 30. Oshkosh dominated in the paint Wednesday night, scoring 26 points to La Crosse's 16.
 
Five Titans scored double-digit points, led by Kayce Vaile (Fifth • Greendale). She scored 12 points on 6-of-8 from the field and pulled down 13 rebounds. Alex Rondorf (Gr. • West Bend) was also big for the Titans as she also scored 12 on a 4-of-5 clip (all from three) and pulled down a season high of 11 rebounds. Avery Poole (Jr. • Cottage Grove) was the third Titan to score 12 while also dishing out three assists. Kate Huml (JR. • Janesville) and Sammi Beyer (So. • Appleton) each tacked on 10 points of their own.
 
UW-Oshkosh started the game scorching hot, producing a 12-0 run in the first five and-a-half minutes with Poole and Vaile each scoring four over that span. The Titans then had a 5-4 spurt to finish the first quarter with a 17-4 lead.
 
Oshkosh dominating the first six minutes of the second quarter with a 14-6 run to stretch its lead to 21 points. In that span, Rondorf and Poole scored six points each, all from three. La Crosse responded with a 9-4 run, cutting the lead to 16 points headed into the break. 
 
Down 19-35 to start the second half, the Eagles started with an 8-6 run to put the score at 41-27 with 5:23 to go in the third quarter. La Crosse outscored Oshkosh, 4-2, to head into the last quarter down 43-31.
 
The Titans started the fourth with a 9-3 run, leading 52-34 with 6:24 to play. La Crosse responded with an 8-6 run to put the score at 42-58. After the team traded baskets, the Eagles closed out the contest with a 5-1 run, but it was too little, and the Titans came out on top, 59-47.
 
UW-Oshkosh is slated to host UW-Whitewater on Saturday (March 1) at 3 p.m. in Kolf Sports Center, for the WIAC Tournament championship game. This will be the 16th appearance in the league championship for Oshkosh and the Titans will look to break a seven title tie with UW-Stevens Point for the most in the conference.
 
This regular season, Oshkosh and Whitewater went to overtime in both games and the Titans were victorious in each; 59-52 in Whitewater on Jan. 15 and 77-69 in Oshkosh on Feb. 5.