OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-River Falls threatened UW-Oshkosh's early lead with a 9-2 run in the first quarter in Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Feb. 7), however the Titans closed out the period by scoring 10 of the last 12 points of the period before cruising to a 69-47 win.
 
Ranked third in both the most recent D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association polls, the Titans (20-1, 9-1 WIAC) retained a 2-game lead in the WIAC standings over UW-Platteville, which defeated UW-La Crosse, 65-55, in La Crosse Saturday.
 
The Titans, who moved to 71-27 against the Falcons (12-9, 5-5 WIAC) all time, have won 20 of the last 22 matchups between the programs including each of the last three.
 
Head coach Brad Fischer reached 20 wins for the 13th consecutive full season (the 2020-21 campaign was shortened to 11 games due to the coronavirus pandemic), passing former UW-Platteville men's basketball head coach Bo Ryan for the most consecutive 20-win seasons in WIAC history regardless of gender. Ryan won at least 20 games every season between 1987-88 and 1987-99.
 
Fischer, who has led the Titans since the 2012-13 season, reached 300 career coaching victories earlier this season as Oshkosh defeated UW-La Crosse, 55-48, at the Eagles' Mitchell Hall Gymnasium on January 7.
 
Oshkosh entered Saturday's matchup leading NCAA Division III with just 9.4 turnovers per game. The Titans also held top 10 rankings in scoring defense (45.1, third), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.31, sixth) and fouls committed per game (11.7, sixth).
 
Oshkosh shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-19) from 3-point range and 50 percent (3-6) from the line, leading River Falls from the field and 3. The Falcons made 7 of 12 free throw attempts for a 58.3-percent mark.
 
The Titans held additional edges in rebounds (36-28), blocks (5-3), steals (8-3), points in the paint (40-16) and second chance points (16-4). Sixteen Falcon points came off the bench to the Titans' 15. Both teams recorded 12 assists and seven points off turnovers.
 
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) led the field with 14 points on 6 of 13 from the field and 2 of 6 from beyond the arc. The owner of the sixth-highest individual assist-to-turnover ratio (2.17) in Division III, she recorded four assists to no turnovers and added three rebounds, a block and a steal.
 
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) scored 13 points by going 6-for-13 from the field and 1-of-1 from 3-point range, matching Beyer's rebound, block and steal totals.
 
Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) tallied a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double, her first of the season, while leading all players with three steals.
 
Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) was the fourth Titan to reach double-digits, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3 for 10 points.
 
Mahra Wieman (Sparta/Reedsburg Area) finished the contest a point short of 10 with a 3-for-5 mark from the field, a 2-for-4 mark from 3-point range, and a 1-for-3 mark from the line.
 
Five Falcons scored a team-high eight points and Emily Anderson pulled down a best five rebounds.
 
Olivia Argall (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) got Oshkosh's 9-point game-opening run started with a 3-pointer, followed by layups from Poole, Argall and Hardwick. After the teams traded a pair of baskets between 7:03 and 6:37, River Falls went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 11-9 and responded to a Seckar layup with another two points to stay close. Seckar and Beyer then combined for eight points across the final 1:32, creating a 21-11 lead after 10 minutes.
 
While neither team put together a run longer than six points in the second quarter, Oshkosh slowly built up a 35-19 edge by halftime. Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger), Seckar and Wieman each tallied two points during the Titans' 6-0 run between 3:55 and 1:02 and Wieman closed out the half with a 3-pointer.
 
Poole got the second half started with a third chance 3-pointer on the opening possession. Oshkosh eventually led by as much as 26 points in the period when Wieman made another deep shot before Jocelyn Plonski, one of the Falcons' 8-point scorers, made a layup with 27 seconds left in the quarter, cutting the deficit to 57-34.
 
Beyer scored the first four points of the fourth quarter with a pair of layups, pushing the Titans' lead to a game-high 27 points. Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) gave Oshkosh a 63-36 lead with 7:47 to play, however Braelyn Beiler hit two 3-pointers in the next 2:02, making the score 63-42 at 5:37. Hardwick and Seckar kept Oshkosh's lead above the 20-point mark with a trio of baskets from inside the arc, culminating in Seckar's jumper at 3:25, the final basket of the game.
 
The Titans will head north on Wednesday (Feb. 11) to face UW-Eau Claire (12-8, 2-7 WIAC). Tip off at the Blugolds' Sonnentag Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Dating back to the 1974-75 season, Oshkosh is 62-45 against the Blugolds, including a 19-10 mark under Fischer.