RIVER FALLS, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball, which entered Saturday afternoon (Jan. 17) with the fourth-best scoring defense in NCAA Division III, held UW-River Falls below 30 percent both from the field and beyond the arc during a 65-33 victory in the Falcons' Don Page Arena.
 
The Titans (16-0, 5-0 WIAC), ranked third in Division III by D3hoops.com and fourth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, held River Falls (9-7, 2-3 WIAC) to 25 percent (12-48) from the field and 15 percent (3-20) from 3-point range and shut the hosts down to their lowest point total since a 45-32 loss to UW-Eau Claire on February 2, 2011, a span of 369 games. The Falcons' field goal percentage matched a team-low from a 58-41 loss to Hope College (Mich.) earlier this season, while their 3-point percentage was the lowest since shooting a matching 3-for-20 in a 56-44 loss to Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) on November 20, 2024.
 
Oshkosh, which leads the WIAC in scoring margin (+20.6), turnover margin (+8.81), assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.40) and blocks per game (3.25),
 
The Titans remain one of just seven women's programs at the Division III level with an unblemished record and are off to the third-best start in program history. The 1995-96 squad went an undefeated 31-0 on its way to the program's national championship. The 1998-99 team went 20-0 to start the year before winning the conference's regular season and tournament titles and advancing to the quarterfinal round of the national tournament. Both the 1994-95 and 2024-25 WIAC championship teams won 17 games to begin their seasons; the 1994-95 squad was the national runner-up while the 2024-25 squad reached the national semifinal round.
 
Oshkosh, which held River Falls to three single digit quarters, led 34-15 at halftime after shooting a hot 66.7 percent (8-12) from the field and 50 percent (3-6) from behind the arc in the second quarter. Across 40 minutes, the Titans completed 50 percent (24-48) of shots from the field, 56.3 percent (9-16) of shots from 3, and 66.7 percent (8-12) of their free throws.
 
The Titans held additional advantages in rebounds (38-24), assists (18-7), points in the paint (28-16), bench points (17-12) and points off turnovers (9-1). River Falls led with five steals on 11 Oshkosh turnovers against three Titan steals on nine Falcon turnovers.
 
All 22 players in uniform saw the court on Saturday. Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) paced the field with 17 points on 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 3 from the line while pulling down six rebounds and recording a steal.
 
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) matched Hardwick's rebound total and added 14 points of her own. She also recorded a season high four assists, a steal and a block. Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) made three of her four attempts from beyond the arc for nine points and Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) dished out a game-best seven assists.
 
Emily Anderson led the Falcons with eight points and Olivia Boily pulled down a team-high five rebounds with two blocks.
 
After Poole scored the first basket of the game, River Falls tied the score twice in the opening period at 6-6 and 9-9 but never took a lead. Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) retained the lead first with a 3-pointer at 6:16 and Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger) kept Oshkosh ahead with a 3 of her own with 18 seconds left. All 12 of the Titans' first-quarter points came from beyond the arc as Seckar made a 3-pointer after the Falcons got on the board with a free throw.
 
The Falcons did not let Oshkosh reach a double digit edge until Hardwick converted an and-1 opportunity with 5:06 to play in the second quarter. Seckar and Poole pushed the lead to 29-14 with five combined points while Beyer rebounded one missed Falcon jump shot and blocked another. River Falls scored just one point in the last five minutes of the second period while Hoitink made another 3-pointer with 25 seconds before intermission to create a 32-15 deficit.
 
Oshkosh was slowly building up its lead at the start of the third quarter until Poole started a 7-0 run that pushed the Titans past a 20-point lead with 5:13 to go. The remaining four points were all tallied by Hardwick, who made two free throws and a layup. Seckar and Kate Huml (Janesville/Janesville Craig) scored five points in a row in the final two minutes of the frame, however Jocelyn Plonski cut into the lead before the buzzer sounded and the teams headed into the fourth quarter with a 50-26 score.
 
The Titans dashed to a 30-point edge at the start of the final period by whipping up an 8-0 run that featured four layups, back-to-back scores by Abbey Inda (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) and one each from Hardwick and Beyer.  Two successful Anderson free throws at 6:16 were the first consecutive Falcon baskets since they tied the contest at 6-6 just 3-and-half minutes after tipoff. Mahra Wieman (Sparta/Reedsburg Area) followed a pair of Seckar free throws by putting Oshkosh up by a game-high 35 points (63-28) with a 3-pointer at 3:24. Neither team scored more than a basket at a time down the stretch and Oshkosh's final two points came at the line. Huml made one at 1:47 and Wieman made the other with 41 ticks on the board.
 
The Titans return to Kolf Sports Center to face UW-Eau Claire (11-5, 1-4 WIAC) Wednesday (Jan. 21). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Oshkosh is 6-4 against the Blugolds, who are receiving votes in both national polls, in the last 10 matchups and has won each of the last three contests. Since the 1974-75 season, Oshkosh is 62-44 against Eau Claire.