OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team may have faced the Royals from Bethel University (Minn.) in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship at Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (March 8), but after a 59-49 victory, the Titans were the team still dancing.
 
With the win, the Titans advance to the 12th "Sweet Sixteen" in program history. In fact, they have reached the third round of the national tournament in over half of their 20 postseason appearances since joining Division III for the 1977-78 season. Under head coach Brad Fischer, Oshkosh has reached the third round in five of the last six tournaments and six of the last eight. In all since Fischer became the head coach for the 2012-13 season, UW-Oshkosh has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen seven times.
 
UW-Oshkosh outscored Bethel in three of the four quarters and gave up a one-point, 11-10, deficit in the fourth, shooting 37.9 percent (22-of-58) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three, and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from the line. The Titans held the Royals to just 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from beyond the arc. Eighteen of Oshkosh's points came on second chances, helped by their second straight game with double-digit offensive rebounds. Oshkosh added 24 points off the bench, 20 points in the paint, and seven points off turnovers with seven steals and four blocks.
 
Newcomers to the Titans this season, Sammi Beyer (So. • Appleton) and Alex Rondorf (Grad. • West Bend) led UW-Oshkosh with 16 and 13 points respectively. Beyer shot 6-of-13 from the field including 4-of-6 from three while Rondorf went 4-of-8 from the field, 3-of-5 from three, and 2-of-2 from the foul line. Rondorf also recorded 12 rebounds and a pair of steals for her second double-double of the season.
 
Paige Seckar (Fr. • Oshkosh), the 2025 WIAC Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year, scored eight points and registered five assists and three blocks.
 
Breaking an early 4-4 tie, Beyer hit her first three-pointer of the night with 5:52 to go in the first quarter to give the Titans a lead they held the rest of the night. The Royals kept the score close, tying the score at 9-9, 11-11, 13-13, and 15-15 before Avery Poole (Jr. • Cottage Grove) connected on a three and Sarah Hardwick (Jr. • Green Bay) made a layup to outscore Bethel, 5-3, to end the period. Three of Seckar's assists came in consecutive Oshkosh possessions between 2:46 and 1:20.
 
The Royals converted a pair of free throws at the start of the second quarter, tying the game for the final time at 20-20 with 8:46 remaining in the half. Rondorf extended the Titans' lead with two three-pointers and Beyer followed a Royal jump shot with a three of her own. Bethel responded to the first double-digit lead of the game with a layup at 35 seconds to cut the deficit to nine points headed into the half.
 
Oshkosh scored 14 points against the Royals' 12 in a tightly-contested third quarter with its lead hovering around 10 points for the entirety of the 10 minute period. Up five points with 6:43 remaining, Beyer made a three, followed by a jump shot and a three by Poole to make the score 45-32 at 3:56. In the last 1:08 of the quarter, both teams made a layup and two foul shots, and the score sat at 49-38 in the Titans' favor with 10 minutes to play.
 
Bethel tallied the first five points of the final quarter and was down 49-43 with 7:18 to play. The Titans outscored the Royals 10-6 down the stretch and big defensive plays from both Hardwick and Rondorf sealed the win in Oshkosh's favor.
 
UW-Oshkosh will travel to Bloomington Illinois to take on the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University at the Shirk Center on Friday (March 14) at 7:30 p.m. Illinois Wesleyan sports a 28-1 record headed into the third round and opened the tournament with wins over Centre College (Ky.) and Trine University (Ind.). The Illinois Titans are ranked fourth by both polling organizations.
 
The Titans are one of three teams from the WIAC that remain standing in the 16-team third round. In a pair of home regionals, UW-Stout defeated Ripon College and Whitman College (Wash.) in Menomonie while UW-Whitewater won over Principia College (Ill.) and UW-La Crosse in Whitewater. The Blue Devils and Warhawks will face each other in Scranton, Pa. on the campus of Scranton College on Friday at 4:30 p.m. central time.