OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh's defense starred as the nationally ranked Titans stifled Webster University (Mo.) on their way to a 53-37 victory during the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on Friday (March 6) in Kolf Sports Center.
Oshkosh (25-3), ranked fourth in the country by
D3hoops.com and eighth by the
Women's Basketball Coaches Association, owned a 38-21 lead entering the final quarter after limiting Webster (19-9) to seven made field goals across the first 30 minutes.
The Titans advance to host Wisconsin Lutheran College (24-5) in the second round at 7:15 p.m. Saturday (March 7) in Kolf Sports Center. Wisconsin Lutheran, which is receiving votes in both national polls, reached the second round with a 65-47 win over Saint Mary's University (Minn.) (20-8) in Friday's first matchup in Kolf Sports Center. The winner of Saturday's matchup plays in the third round March 13.
Sammi Beyer (Appleton/Appleton East) paced 10 Oshkosh scorers with 10 points.
Sarah Hardwick (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) and
Avery Poole (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) added seven points apiece for the Titans, who also received six points from both
Kate Huml (Janesville/Janesville Craig) and
Mahra Wieman (Sparta/Reedsburg Area), five from
Mallory Hoitink (Hartford/Slinger), four from
Paige Seckar (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West), three apiece from
Hope Barington (Sobieski/Notre Dame Academy) and
Abbey Inda (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove), and two from
Megan Geason (Franklin/Oak Creek).
Wieman led all players with a season-best eight rebounds while Seckar dished out a team-high three assists.
Oshkosh shot 34 percent (17-50) from the field, 13 percent (3-23) from 3-point range and 84.2 percent (16-19) at the free throw line. The Titans owned advantages of 42-22 in rebounds, 6-5 in assists, 14-15 in turnovers and 4-1 in blocks.
The Titans entered the night leading the entire NCAA, regardless of division, with 9.5 turnovers per game while ranking second in Division III in scoring defense at 45.6 points per contest and eighth with a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Webster went 13-for-44 (29.5 percent) from the floor, 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc and 7-for-10 (70 percent) at the foul line. The Gorloks, who ranked 10th nationally by creating 26.37 turnovers per contest, held a 9-6 edge in steals.
The Gorloks were held to their fewest points in the 360 games since suffering a 69-34 setback at conference rival Westminster College (Mo.) on Feb. 24, 2012. Oshkosh has now limited seven opponents to under 40 points on the year.
Akaela Caquelin had a game-high 11 points and a team-leading five rebounds for the Gorloks.
Clinging to a 9-8 lead after one period, Oshkosh held Webster to 2-for-13 (15.4) percent shooting from the field during the second quarter en route to owning a 17-12 advantage at intermission.
The Titans then put the game away during the third period, outscoring the Gorloks, 21-9, and a .273 (3-11) field goal percentage in the stanza.
Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 9-6 following an Inda 3-pointer with 2:06 left in the opening period. The Titans later had their initial double-digit cushion after a pair of Beyer free throws extended the advantage to 28-17 at the 6:10 mark of the third quarter.
The Titans maintained a double-digit lead for the final 13 minutes after a Hardwick layup upped the advantage to 32-21 with 3:09 left in the third quarter. Hardwick's basket in the lane sparked a string of 12 unanswered Oshkosh points during a span of more than seven minutes. The Titans' 12-0 scoring run featured four points apiece from Beyer and Wieman, and two by both Hardwick and Huml until Webster cut its deficit to 42-22 with a free throw at the 6:57 mark of the fourth period.
Oshkosh, which also ousted Webster from the 2024 NCAA postseason during the first round in Kolf Sports Center, improved to 42-18 overall in 21 appearances at the Division III Championship. The Titans, who advanced to the Final Four a year ago, has won at least one game in each of their past 18 trips to the national tournament dating back to 1994.
The Titans, hosting a regional for the third consecutive season, are now 24-2 at home in the NCAA tournament, including wins during their last nine contests in Kolf Sports Center.
Oshkosh is 9-0 all-time against Wisconsin Lutheran. The teams met twice previously in the Division III Championship. The Titans eliminated the Warriors during the first round in 2000 (64-38 in Albee Hall) and 2022 (48-42 in Kolf Sports Center).
