ROCK ISLAND, Ill.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball dropped its first nonconference game in 31 early season contests in the first day of the Augustana College (Ill.) Hyatt Place Tournament on Friday (Nov. 13) with a 71-66 loss to Wartburg College (Iowa).
In a game that was never separated by more than six points, the Titans (2-1), ranked sixth in NCAA Division III by
D3hoops.com and fourth by the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association, held a lead over Wartburg (3-0), ranked 18th by D3hoops.com, as late as 1:31 remaining before the Knights went on a 7-2 run inside the Roy J. Carver Center to secure the win.
The contest featured 14 lead changes and 13 tied scores.
The victory tipped the all-time series, 5-4, in the Knights' favor, who have won five of the last six matchups dating back to a 70-65 win over the Titans in Waverly, Iowa on Nov. 23, 2008. Oshkosh won the first three games in the series and most recently a took 71-58 decision in Eau Claire on Nov. 12, 2022.
Oshkosh's loss was its first in nonconference play since falling, 67-62, to DePauw University (Ind.) in St. Louis on Dec. 1, 2023.
The Titans shot 38.7 percent (24-62) from the field, 22.7 percent (5-22) from 3-point range and 86.7 percent (13-15) from the line. Thirty-four of their points came in the paint, 18 were scored off the Knights' 16 turnovers (nine were Oshkosh steals), 13 came on second chances and 11 were tallied by bench players. Oshkosh also recorded 36 rebounds, eight assists and a block.
Emily La Chapell (Appleton, Wis./Appleton East) led a trio of Titans in double-figure scoring with 16 points on 6 of 17 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line with a team-high six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Mallory Hoitink (Slinger/Slinger) scored a career-high 15 points on 5 of 9 from the field, 3 of 6 from beyond the arc and 2 of 3 from the line. She also recorded four rebounds.
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) rounded out Oshkosh's double-digit scorers with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. She shot 5 of 11 from the field and 4 of 4 from the line.
Wartburg led the Titans with a 37 percent (10-27) mark from beyond the arc, 43 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks while going 21 of 56 (37.5 percent) from the field and 19-28 (67.9 percent) from three.
The teams traded baskets and small leads throughout the first quarter until a 6-0 run that featured a Seckar layup and baskets for La Chapell created a 12-8 advantage with 4:17 left in the period. Wartburg tied the score at 16-16 with less than two minutes remaining and La Chapell gave the Titans another lead at 49 seconds with a layup.
Oshkosh pushed its lead to a game-high six points twice in the second quarter on an
Olivia Witkowski (Fremont/Weyauwega-Fremont) jump shot at 8:45 in the second quarter and an
Abbey Inda (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) layup at 8:02 before the Knights went on a 13-4 spurt that handed them a 32-29 lead, their first since 6:12 in the first quarter. The Titans held the Knights scoreless in the last 2:38 of the quarter, forced two turnovers and blocked a shot, and reclaimed the lead at 34-32 with a Hoitink three and a
Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) jumper.
Wartburg opened the third quarter on a 7-3 run and retained the lead until Beyer hit a 3-pointer at 2:01 that made the score 46-45. The lead swapped again, 47-46, with 41 seconds remaining.
The Titans took their turn with a quarter-opening run in the fourth, tallying points on a layup and free throw by Hoitink and a pair of baskets from the charity stripe by La Chapell. Inda responded to a Wartburg layup with one of her own to make the score 53-49 with 6:11 to go, but a 9-2 run by the Knights flipped the lead once more. The Titans took their final lead at 2:19 on a Hoitink jump shot and fended off two knotted scores before Wartburg closed out the game on a 10-3 run.
Four Knights reached double-digit scoring on Friday, led by Katie Boulanger's 21 points on 6 of 16 from the field, 2 of 6 from three and 7 of 7 from the line. Lauren Golinghorst, who tied with Reagan Pagniano for the game's high of seven rebounds, scored 18 points. Grace Hennessy and Corrie Harrison tallied 15 and 10 point, respectively.
The Titans will face first-time opponent Bethany College (W.Va.) (1-1) on Saturday (Nov. 14) at 2 p.m. in the consolation game.
