Titans Wear Down Blugolds In Second Half

More news about: UW-Oshkosh

UW-Oshkosh won its 20th game of the season with a 65-55 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Feb. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Titans (20-2/11-2 WIAC) are ranked 17th by D3hoops.com.

All 10 Titans scored in the contest. Ashley Neustifter topped the team with 13 points, while Taylor Schmidt added 10 and Sarah Stecker nine. Marissa Selner contributed nine points and a career-high nine rebounds.

UW-Eau Claire (6-17/4-10 WIAC) was held scoreless for the first three minutes of play. Abby Midtlien then tallied five quick points and Teenie Lichtfuss converted a lay-up to give the Blugolds a 9-8 lead.

Selner counted a three-point play to jump start a 15-3 Titan run. Morgan Kokta and Kendell Truttman sank three-pointers to go ahead by seven. Neustifter drained one from downtown with 7:56 on the clock to put UW-Oshkosh ahead, 23-12.

The Titans maintained a comfortable lead for most of the half, increasing the margin with a 10-2 spurt before intermission. Neustifter lined up a triple and buried it at the buzzer to earn a 35-21 cushion at the break.

UW-Eau Claire bolted out of halftime with 12 unanswered points. Midtlien and Rachel Egdorf each marked four points, with Egdorf's free throws making it 35-33 with 15:56 remaining.

Over the next 4:23, UW-Oshkosh went on a 12-0 run of its own. After an Alex Richard jumper, Alicia Tollefson nailed two three-pointers from the exact same spot to give the Titans a 47-33 advantage at the 10:37 mark.

The Blugolds never got closer than seven points the rest of the night. UW-Oshkosh sealed the win with seven foul shots in the last minute.

The Titans outrebounded the Blugolds, 34-26. UW-Oshkosh totaled 40 percent shooting (18-45) from the floor, including 58 percent (7-12) from three-point range, and 73 percent at the charity stripe (22-30).

UW-Eau Claire hit 41 percent (18-44) of its shots, 40 percent (4-10) of its three-pointers and 79 percent at the foul line (15-19).

Lichtfuss led her squad with 15 points, while Egdorf accumulated nine rebounds, eight points and five blocks. Courtney Lewis added six points and five assists for the Blugolds.

UW-Oshkosh welcomes No. 11 UW-Whitewater (20-3/14-0 WIAC) to Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Feb. 15).

By Jon Feyen, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information