EAU CLAIRE, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's basketball fell, 65-54, to UW-Eau Claire at the Blugolds' Sonnentag Event Center on Wednesday (Feb. 11), marking the Titans' second loss of the season and the first loss on the road.
 
UW-Oshkosh (20-2, 9-2 WIAC) claimed an early 13-6 lead against UW-Eau Claire (13-9, 3-8 WIAC) however the hosts closed out the opening quarter with a 10-2 run and never trailed for the remainder of the contest.
 
Oshkosh, ranked fourth in NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and fifth by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, maintains its two-game lead in the WIAC standings despite the loss with three regular season contests remaining.
 
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) led all players with 24 points on the night, shooting 9-for-16 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-for-5 from the line. She also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, dished out three assists and blocked a shot.
 
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) was the Titans' second-highest scorer at 10. She went 4 of 15 from the field and 2 of 2 from the line while leading the field with four assists.
 
Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) stole three possessions and recorded seven rebounds to go with her four points and Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger) registered Oshkosh's third block.
 
UW-Oshkosh shot a season-low 30.6 percent (19-62) from the field, including a 4-for-16 mark from 3-point range while going 12 of 17 from the line. UW-Eau Claire shot 48.9 percent (23-47) from the field, the highest percentage the Titans have allowed all season. The Blugolds also shot 36.4 percent (4-11) from 3-point range and 78.9 percent (15-19) from the line.
 
Eau Claire led in rebounds (39-34), assists (11-10), bench points (20-9), points off turnovers (11-10) and points in the paint (32-26) while Oshkosh held edges in turnovers committed (9-14), blocks (3-2), steals (5-2) and second chance points (10-6).
 
The Titans jumped on the board first with a Seckar layup and Beyer kept them ahead with four points across 34 seconds before Seckar tallied seven consecutive points to create the 13-6 edge with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter. UW-Eau Claire then scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out the period, leading 16-15 at the break. Hoitink scored Oshkosh's two points with a layup at 2:38, breaking up Eau Claire's 6-0 run.
 
Kate Huml (Janesville/Janesville Craig) brought the score within a point (18-17) with 8:10 on the clock in the second quarter, however Eau Claire led by as much as seven points until Hardwick, Seckar and Olivia Argall (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) combined for seven points in the last 3:25 of the first half to cut the deficit to 26-24.
 
While Beyer got the Titans within a point again in the third quarter at 27-26, the Blugolds added a nine-point spurt, pushing their lead to double digits. With two Huml free throws and a tip-in layup and 3-pointer from Seckar, Oshkosh cut the deficit down to six points (39-33) with 3:01 to go in the stanza. Hardwick and Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) both sank a pair of shots at the line to keep the score within six points headed into the final period.
 
Oshkosh fought off a trio of double-digit deficits early in the fourth quarter and climbed back within five points with 5:39 to play as Seckar converted a fastbreak layup and Abbey Inda (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) made a shot from 3-point range. The Blugolds however, built back up to a lead of at least 10 points and made two sets of free throws around the minute mark as the Titans went into foul mode. Seckar sank two baskets with under 40 seconds on the clock to keep the score within 11 points as time expired.
 
The Titans will celebrate their 8-player senior class at Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Feb. 14) as they host UW-Stout (11-11, 2-9 WIAC) at 3 p.m. Oshkosh is 64-27 against the Blue Devils since the 1974-75 season and own a 6-4 edge in the last 10 matchups, including a 75-49 win in Menomonie on January 24.