Box Score
VIDEO: Highlights and post game interview
MADISON, Wis. - The Edgewood College women's basketball team delivered an early Christmas gift for their head coach Casey Thousand and senior Shae Beckwith put a bow on the package with a career-high performance on Tuesday night. The Eagles shot 54.5 percent in the second half to run away from UW-Oshkosh 60-51, earning their first ever victory over the Titans in the process.
Edgewood College (6-4) came out of a ragged first half in better shape than the Titans, leading 25-19 despite shooting just 34.4 percent (11-for-32) from the field. Sophomore Alison Tobin scored six points on 3-for-5 shooting in the first half to lead the team. Freshman Maggie Peerenboom hit both of her shots, including a three-point basket. The Eagles committed just four first half turnovers and only had nine in the game, marking only the second time since 2001-02 that the Eagles had single-digit turnovers in a game.
UW-Oshkosh's (7-5) Shelby Churchill and Megan Wenig scored the first two baskets of the second half to trim the Eagles' lead to 25-23, but Edgewood College would score the next six points to extend the lead to eight and never looked back. Leading 37-28, the Eagles surrendered two offensive rebounds to the Titans, but Denay Hering eventually corralled the Titans' third miss and sliced coast-to-coast to give Edgewood College a 39-28 lead.
From there Beckwith, a senior from East Troy, Wis., would guarantee there would be no Titan comeback. Beckwith started her streak with a driving three-point play and followed it with a three-point basket on the next possession. After a bucket by Tobin, Beckwith then lit up the Todd Wehr Edgedome with three straight three-point baskets. The first two struck iron but found their way through the rim, while the final triple swished neatly into the bottom of the net for the Eagles largest lead of the game at 57-41. Beckwith went 5-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the three-point in the second half. She finished with a career-high 20 points including five three-pointers.
Edgewood College had never beaten UW-Oshkosh in seven previous games. The Eagles snapped a 12-game losing streak to WIAC programs, dating back to a 2005-06 victory over UW-Whitewater. The victory is the first ever for Edgewood College over a program that has won a national title. UW-Oshkosh won the 1996 NCAA Division III crown.
After Beckwith's career night, Tobin was the only other Eagle in double figures posting 10 points. Peerenboom finished with nine points off the bench, while Melanie Walker grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Their second half barrage lifted the Eagles' shooting percentage to 42.6 for the night.
Katie Kitzke led the Titans with 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Wenig and Laura Ebbens each added nine points, while the Eagles held UW-Oshkosh's leading scorer Michelle Boeder to eight points, all of which came in the second half. The Titans shot just 37 percent (20-for-54) in the game.
With the win, Edgewood College will take the rest of the week off. They will get a chance at a second win over a WIAC team after New Year's Day but the task will be tough, traveling to 17th-ranked UW-Whitewater on January 5.