OSHKOSH, Wis.- Nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh led by 20 points at intermission and cruised to a 68-41 victory over UW-River Falls during the semifinal round of the WIAC Women's Basketball Tournament (Presented by Culver's) on Wednesday (Feb. 25) in Kolf Sports Center.
 
Oshkosh (24-2), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and seventh by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, outscored River Falls, 19-4, during the second period after limiting the Falcons to 13.3 percent (2-15) shooting from the field in the period en route to owning a 37-17 cushion at halftime.
 
The three-time reigning WIAC regular season outright champion and top-seeded Titans advance to host second-seeded UW-La Crosse for the league tournament title at 7 p.m. Friday (Feb. 27). La Crosse won its Wednesday semifinal contest, 77-54, at home against third-seeded UW-Whitewater. The winner of Friday's championship game earns the WIAC's automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III Championship that commences March 6.
 
Oshkosh, which improved to 17-4 in the semifinal round of the WIAC Tournament, will be making its third consecutive trip to the league title game and 11th in the past 13 years. The Titans, the winningest program at the WIAC Tournament, are now 37-17 overall at the event.
 
The Titans won all three meetings with the Falcons this season in dominant fashion, winning during the regular season by scores of 63-33 on January 17 in River Falls and 69-47 in Oshkosh on February 7. River Falls has not beaten Oshkosh during the league postseason in five all-time matchups.
 
Despite the semifinal losses, both fourth-seeded River Falls (16-11) and Whitewater (19-8) are expected to receive one of 21 at-large berths into the national tournament based on the NCAA Power Index.
 
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) led all players with 14 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Titans.
 
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) added 12 points and a career high-tying seven rebounds for Oshkosh, which also received nine points from Olivia Argall (Dodgeville/Dodgeville), eight points and five assists from Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove), and seven points and a game-best 12 rebounds from Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy). Argall went 3-for-6 from 3-point range while Beyer and Poole combined to go 4-for-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Oshkosh shot 24-for-55 (43.6 percent) from the field, 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) from 3-point range and 11-for-15 (73.3 percent) at the free throw line. The Titans held advantages of 41-31 in rebounds, 13-4 in assists and 8-2 in blocks.
 
Emily Anderson was the lone River Falls double-digit scorer with 10 points. She also paced the squad with two steals and a pair of blocks.
 
Going against Division III's second-best scoring defense (45.5 points allowed per game), River Falls shot 27.3 percent (15-55) from the floor, 20 percent (3-15) from beyond the 3-point arc and 88.8 percent (8-9) at the foul line while owning edges of 9-11 in turnovers and 6-3 in steals despite Oshkosh entering the night as the only NCAA team regardless of division to average fewer than 10 turnovers per contest at 9.6. River Falls matched a season low with three made 3-pointers and was held to its fewest assists of the season.
 
The Falcons held the lead for 65 second during the first quarter at 7-5 until Poole drilled a 3-pointer to put the Titans ahead for good at 8-7 with 4:44 to go in the opening period. Oshkosh made each of its first five attempts from beyond the arc across the first two periods, including a pair of deep jumpers from Argall, and one apiece by both Hardwick and Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger).
 
The Titans led, 18-13, after the first quarter before putting the game away with a dominant defensive performance during the second period as River Falls did not score until Jocelyn Plonski's layup cut the Falcon deficit to 30-15 with 5:38 to go until halftime. Oshkosh later built 20-point second-quarter leads at 35-15 on a Beyer 3-pointer at the 2:41 mark and 37-17 following a Beyer layup with 69 seconds left.
 
Oshkosh headed into the final stanza with a 51-31 cushion and held their largest lead of 27 points at 68-41 following a pair of Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) free throws that created the final score with 50 seconds remaining.
 
The Titans have secured a WIAC record-tying seven previous league postseason championships (1999, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021). La Crosse will be making its first title game appearance.